Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley
Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley is lobbying for education frontline workers to be prioritized when more COVID vaccines arrive in Louisiana. Brumley formally requested to LDH and the Governor that an estimated 166-thousand employees in the state’s daycare centers, pre-K programs, and K-12 be vaccinated.
“Whether that’s a certificated employee or a staff member such as a bus driver, paraprofessional secretary; receive priority access to the vaccine,” said Brumley.
After frontline healthcare workers are vaccinated those who work and live-in nursing homes, state-run veteran’s homes, and long-term care facilities are next. Who’s next in line is still to be determined, Brumley wants it to be education employees.
“Our birth through twelfth-grade employees cut across every region of the state, they cut across every demographic in our state and so it’s a really good sample population of the state,” said Brumley.
While Governor Edwards has stated he intends to follow the CDC’s guidelines on who receives priority, second phase guidance has not been established.
Brumley said the ability for education workers to safely return to work and have students on campus is essential for a parent or caretakers’ ability to return to the workforce.
“Certainly I believe that society further appreciates the role of an open school or childcare center every single day,” said Brumley.
Brumley said 65-percent of the state’s K-12 schools, both public and private are providing in-person instruction five days a week. Twenty percent are holding virtual-only, and 15-percent offer a hybrid mix of instruction.
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