COVID lockdown Democrats kept children out of school

OPINION:

Last week, the Department of Education released new data on the state of K-12 education in the United States. Their findings? The largest drop in math scores on record.

The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress found a similarly dramatic dip in reading that erased three decades of gains. Average ACT test scores from 2022 high school graduates plummeted to their lowest point in over 30 years. It’s no coincidence that this news comes on the heels of two years of lockdowns, remote learning and academic instability. Democrats are responsible for sabotaging our children’s futures. It’s time to hold them accountable at the ballot box.

Democrat lockdowns were always rooted in politics, not science. Teachers unions colluded with President Biden’s CDC to delay in-person learning. These unions from Chicago to Massachusetts pushed to delay in-person classes for months on end. A teachers union in Los Angeles promised to come back to work only if their list of woke demands were met first. Mr. Biden promised to get children back in the classroom, but 100 days into his administration, he fell far short. The Biden administration has no regrets, however. According to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, closing schools and going virtual for months on end was the “right decision.”

He’s not the only one. Washington state Democrat Sen. Patty Murray insists it was not a mistake to keep students home during the pandemic. Her state saw some 40,000 students fewer students enrolled in public schools as a result. In Florida, Democrat Senate candidate Val Demings smeared reopening schools as a “recipe for disaster,” while gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist called for new mask mandates and lockdowns. And in New York, Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul sought to appease teachers unions by keeping the school mask mandate in place into 2022 — despite lifting the mandate for businesses.

In my home state of Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another Democrat, might be the most shameless of all. In her recent debate with Republican Tudor Dixon, Ms. Whitmer claimed Michigan schools were closed for just three months. That’s a lie.

My son — along with thousands of other Michigan children — wasn’t back in school full time for more than a year. The state’s largest district, Detroit, switched to remote learning in the spring of 2020. They remained online through the end of the school year and into 2022. Private high schools and colleges were forced to hold classes online for the remainder of the semester after Ms. Whitmer closed them in November 2020. Lansing schools stayed shuttered into 2021. Schools in Grand Rapids, Dearborn, Muskegon and Kalamazoo alternated between online and in-person learning. As late as January of this year, Flint schools announced indefinite remote classes. While Ms. Whitmer grandstanded for her political ambitions, our children paid the price.

And they’re still paying it. As of this semester, school districts are reporting thousands of “missing” students chronically absent from the classroom. Lockdowns destroyed two decades of progress in math and reading, hitting Black and Hispanic students hardest. Low-income, Black and Hispanic students were also disproportionately affected by school closures because their schools remained remote longer. 

The consequences will reverberate for decades to come. One report found that students will lose more than $60,000 in lifetime earnings due to learning gaps. Black students will be hurt the most; experts projected a 3.3% loss of income per year as adults. That’s not even to mention the mental health issues, depression, addiction, domestic violence and suicides that have snared too many young people in the past two years.

These consequences were always part of the equation. Democrats simply chose to ignore them. Now, we’re finally seeing — in quantifiable data — just how steep the price was. Thankfully, conservative challengers have stepped up to take these irresponsible politicians to task.

In Washington state, Republican Tiffany Smiley, a military wife and mom, is facing Mrs. Murray for Senate. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is surging ahead of Ms. Demings and her radical priorities, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ record of keeping Florida students in school and fighting for parental choice has given him a leg up over Mr. Crist. In the Empire State, Mr. Zeldin, the Republican nominee, has astonished pundits by pulling ahead of Ms. Hochul in some polls, proof of just how fed up New Yorkers are with Democrat corruption and failed leadership. And in Michigan, Ms. Dixon’s message of parental rights and academic excellence is resonating with families outraged by Ms. Whitmer’s callous arrogance.

Democrats can try to deny reality or erase history, but they can’t brush off the damage their reckless policies have done to the next generation. Lockdowns weren’t “for the children.” They were for a selfish political agenda. And parents won’t forget come Election Day.