It's Safe to Bring Children Back to the Classroom This Fall

Children have been out of school long enough. Their return to the classroom is absolutely necessary for their success in learning and moving forward in their educational endeavors come this fall. As a father of two adolescent children, I wholeheartedly applaud and agree with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation which strongly states "the coming school year should start with the goal of students physically present in school." Remote learning should not be considered unless parents make their own decision to choose to home school their children.

Currently, most parents across the U.S. are in the dark about whether their children's school plans to open or not at the end of summer. This indecisiveness does not help ease families' concerns and worries over what to expect in just a few short weeks. If school administrators make the decision to continue remote learning at home, this will undoubtedly place a heavy burden on parents, working or not, on how to balance distance learning with the rigors of daily life. Add to this burden, parents of special needs children will be particularly hard hit if they are not getting their educational needs met.