Barrasso: Children deserve to be in school

Wyoming’s U.S. Senator John Barrasso says there’s an urgent need to get the nation’s youth back in school.

Speaking on the Senate floor recently, Barrasso talked about the need for Democrats to work with Republicans to get children back in school. He noted that students in Wyoming have been back in school since September, and said “that’s where students belong.”

Barrasso charged that Democrats for months have been “playing politics” with coronavirus relief and pointed to a study that estimates that, because of the school lockdown last spring, a typical student entered this school year 35 percent behind schedule in reading and nearly 50 percent behind in math.

Barrasso said the children hurt the most are the most vulnerable, including those from lower-income families and children of single parents. He said many of those parents can’t work from home.

He said according to the National Education Association, a quarter of families with children ages 5 to 17 either don’t have a computer or don’t have wireless internet – the necessities for virtual learning.

At the same time, Barrasso said, the Senate Republicans supported spending $105 billion to get youth back in school while Senate Democrats have dragged their feet and the Chicago teachers union is threatening to go on strike rather than go back into the classroom.

Barrasso asked if Democrats are going to put the nation’s children first, and said returning to school is what’s best for working families, the children and our future as a nation.