Maryland Governor Hogan’s response the Maryland State Education Association

Governor Hogan asked each school district to have a hybrid teaching model no later than March 1st on last Thursday. During the last three days, we are working to understand this mandate. I just received this letter from Governor Hogan to the Maryland State Education Association (i.e., Maryland Teacher Union). I believe there will be more to be understood by each school district.

The board will have another two work sessions to talk about our hybrid plan next week. Please keep tuned in.

Here are the first three paragraphs.

Dear Ms. Bost:
President Biden has identified reopening schools as one of his top priorities for his first 100 days in office – recently stating, “it should be a national priority to get our kids back into school and keep them in school.” The President’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said that “[t]he default position we should have is to bring the children back to school or keep them in school.”

Leading experts, including former FDA Commissioner and Maryland Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Scott Gottleib and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that in-person instruction is safe for educators, safe for communities, and by far the safest place for students. We strongly support the call from President Biden to return students back to school and echo his administration’s sentiments that the prompt return to in-person instruction is vital to our nation’s success.

The impacts from this prolonged period of disrupted instruction are taking their toll on our students, our families, and our educators. It is a moral imperative to provide all of our students with every opportunity
to succeed in a safe learning environment. This past year, almost entirely consisting of distance learning, has strained our ability as a State to provide those opportunities in an effective and equitable way.

The full text is attached here: