Kira Orange Jones
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Sandy Holloway calls Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley’s plan to allow parents to decide if their child should stay home if there was a possible COVID exposure, abrupt and inconsistent with what health officials recommend. Fellow BESE member Kira Orange Jones agrees.
“This is a rogue, irresponsible action that really didn’t give many constituents the opportunity to weigh in on something as important as this,’ said Jones.
Brumley’s directive states that school systems have a choice of whether or not they implement parental choice when dealing with possible virus exposure and quarantining kids. His concern is the huge number of kids missing school and classroom interaction with classmates.
Jones, who represents District 2 on the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education says Brumley should have run his idea past BESE first.
“Many BESE members haven’t had the opportunity to even understand the policy or its implications,’ said Jones.
Some school systems are implementing this new parent choice option, while others are not changing their quarantine rules, which means students will have still have to quarantine after they have close contact with a person who is COVID positive.
Jones says she’d like to talk with state health officials and medical experts about Brumley’s policy.
“Really assess the ways in which it does or doesn’t fly in the face of what we know is in the best interest of keeping students and school communities safe,” said Jones.
Here’s a statement from Holloway,
“Superintendent Brumley’s announcement about shifts in the Department of Education’s COVID-19 guidance regarding quarantine protocol is concerning, given that BESE members were not briefed in advance on the specifics and rationale for the change. Since the outset of the pandemic, the mitigation guidance and policies issued by the LDOE and BESE for K-12 schools have been determined through consultation with the Louisiana Department of Health and in alignment with the CDC. Board members should have had the opportunity to understand these potential shifts, consult with and consider the advice of the Louisiana Department of Health in identifying the safest options for our schools. Under the previous guidance issued, our districts have done a great job in providing safe learning environments for students, and have done their part in mitigating the spread of this deadly virus. Given the pandemic, impacts of Hurricane Ida, and the many disturbances faced already this school year, this is yet another disturbance to teaching and learning that could have the opposite impact in ensuring kids are safely able to engage in in-person instruction.” – – Sandy Holloway, BESE President
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