Education Week - February 3, 2021 - 4

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The chairman of the House education committee wants a GOP
congresswoman who has previously backed conspiracy theories
about school shootings to be removed from his committee.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., wants Republican leaders to reverse
course and rescind the decision to put Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
of Georgia on the committee.
As his reason, Scott cited Greene's past support for baseless claims
that the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
in Parkland, Fla., was a " false flag " operation and that other school
shootings were somehow staged.
" House Republicans have appointed someone to this committee
who claimed that the killing of 14 students and three teachers at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was staged, " Scott said.
By putting Greene on the committee, he added, House GOP leaders were sending " a clear message to students, parents, and educators about the views of the Republican party. "
Recent revelations about Greene's support for these conspiracy
theories has caused an uproar among Democrats in Washington.
Greene has also drawn national headlines for her support for QAnon,
the name used for a range of conspiracy theories that the FBI has
categorized as a domestic terror threat.
A spokesman for the congresswoman did not directly address her
past comments on social media about school shootings. Instead,
he focused on Greene's support for school choice and reopening
schools, among other policies.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., announced that he would push to
have Greene expelled from Congress. Gun-control advocacy groups
have also said that she should resign.

Vol. 40 * Issue 20 * February 3, 2021
6 COVID-19 May Energize Push for School

Choice in States. Where That Leads Is Unclear

8 Can Schools Really Reopen in 100 Days?

How Staffing Could Hobble Biden's Plan

8 Zoom and Google Outages: How Schools

OPINION
15 The History of Black History Month
16 When History Class Feels Like Propaganda
20 Black History Is About More

Than Oppression

Should Prepare for Tech Problems

10 The Violent History of White Supremacy

Is Rarely Taught in Schools. It Should Be

12 Has the Public Turned on Teachers?

DEPARTMENTS
3 Briefly Stated
6 What the Research Says

14 School Sports a Fresh Front in State

Battles Over Transgender Students' Rights

18 EdWeek Top School Jobs

INTERACTIVE

Where Teachers Are Eligible
For the COVID-19 Vaccine
Exactly where educators as a group fall within phased
vaccination plans-and the speed with which those phases
are happening-varies greatly from state to state. To keep
readers updated on where things stand, Education Week is
tracking plans for vaccinating K-12 educators across all 50
states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Getty

House Education Chairman
Wants Greene Off Panel

edw.link/VaccineEligibility

Union Accuses Fla. District
Of Spying on Its Teachers
" Be careful what you put on social media. It could come back and
bite you. " That's an admonition teachers and other adults often convey to students.
District officials in Broward County have turned that dictum on its
head, scouring the Facebook pages of teachers working remotely to
catch them partying, traveling, and failing to wear masks at a time
the educators say COVID-19 makes it too risky for them to return to
campus.
One teacher is pictured at her daughter's destination wedding in
Jamaica. Another attended a political rally for Joe Biden. Others were
pictured with cocktails in restaurants or enjoying a Disney or beach
vacation with family or friends.
The Florida district used about 40 pages of research about remote
teachers during an arbitration hearing last month with the Broward
Teachers Union, which challenged the district's decision to end remote work assignments for most teachers.
" If individuals on remote assignment can go to a Biden rally or
to Animal Kingdom or to a luncheon, they can safely return to inperson teaching, " Stephanie Marchman, a lawyer representing the
district said during the hearing.
From the union's viewpoint, the effort amounts to " spying " on
employees.
" You're saying if you do something that puts you at risk, you
should be at risk at all times, " union lawyer Mark Richard said during the hearing. " This is a sad day for the Broward County school
system. Once you've gone to a Biden rally and didn't practice social
distancing, you might as well come to school, increase exposure,
and die. "
The arbitrator ruled the district can order teachers back but must
turn over information to the union about how decisions are made.
Appearances, of course, can be deceiving. One social-media post
showed James Keith Calloway, 58, a teacher coach who had been
working remotely, posed in a holiday photo close to others and without a mask. But Calloway said the photo was taken in December
2019, before the pandemic. His brother posted it this past holiday
season, leading to confusion.
" I just find it hard to believe [the district] would go to this extent.
I really do, " he said.
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COVER IMAGES (clockwise from top): Fourth grader Falis Asair, right, makes notes
CO
about snowflakes during an outdoor class at the Gerald Talbot School, in
ab
Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP) | Nurses work at a drive-through testing
P
site
in a parking garage in New York. The site was only open to students and staff
s

TEXT CAN GO

or
On The Drawing
Outside. Flex

ally
Can Schools Re
Days?
Reopen in 100

's push
le President Biden 8
l
ages could hobb
ing this spring
How staff short
d in-person learn
for widesprea

of
o Rockland County schools in an effort to test enough people to keep the
schools
open for in-person learning. (Seth Wenig/AP) | A Harvest Best
s
Academy
student is surrounded by a protective plexiglass barrier in a pod of
A
students in Minneapolis. (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP) | Teacher Erin Berry
greets preschool students as they walk into Dawes Elementary School in
Chicago earlier this month. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

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Education Week - February 3, 2021

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