Editorial: Marion County should give schools flexibility to bring students back

Note: This editorial, published in the Nov. 11 issue of IBJ, was written before the Marion County Public Health Department said schools could reopen on Jan. 4.

In July, when the Trump administration was making noise about punishing schools that chose virtual instruction because of the pandemic, an IBJ editorial called on federal officials to back off.

“The decision about whether to bring students back to school, teach them virtually or do some combination needs to be made locally,” we wrote.

Today, we still believe that. But we are concerned about the heavy-handed approach the Marion County Health Department has taken in ordering all schools to stop in-person instruction and go to remote learning instead.

We are not aiming to be overly critical. There’s no doubt that health officials are facing an extremely difficult situation and are making tough choices among bad options.

But, as we said in July, we have little doubt that students—particularly young students—will get a better education if they are in school, even as we understand that the pandemic has made that difficult. And we have a special concern about students from low-income households, where internet connectivity could be spotty or nonexistent and where parents are more likely to be in jobs that are impossible to do from home.

We know that experts don’t necessarily agree on the best approach for schools, and that many districts are struggling to keep enough teachers and staff in their buildings because so many are sick or are quarantining because they are close to someone who is sick. But we believe schools should have the opportunity to meet in person if they can, and we would like to see Marion County health officials amend their orders to make that a possibility.

The department could approach schools the way they have approached Indianapolis Colts games or other events—by reviewing the organizers’ plans for keeping people safe and setting limits or restrictions on those events.

Similarly, the health department could review school plans for dealing with COVID-19 risks and for providing in-person instruction, letting students return to school buildings only when the county has signed off on those plans.

That’s just one suggestion—one that might be difficult to manage. There could be far better ways to handle the situation. But we think it’s worth developing a system in which some districts and individual schools can try to bring students back to the classroom.

After all, research is already emerging that students are struggling to keep up, that more students are failing classes, and that they are falling behind in math. And early analyses find that students of color and students who live in poverty are far more likely to be behind, a problem that could plague those students—and our community—for years to come.

If our community can find a way to let at least some fans attend Colts games, to let bars and restaurants stay open and even to hold limited events at the Indiana Convention Center, we feel confident there’s a way to consider letting students go back to class—at least for those schools that want to try.•

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