RELEASE From the Professional Educators of Tennessee:

Professional Educators of Tennessee whole-heartedly supports the call of Governor Bill Lee to keep our public schools closed during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We share his concern for at-risk and vulnerable student populations. However, the focus must remain on the safety of school employees and our students. We also share the optimism of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn that our schools will be back for the 2020-2021 school year. "Nothing beats human ingenuity and sheer willpower in the face of uncertainty created by this pandemic," according to executive director JC Bowman. Schwinn will also convene a COVID-19 Child Wellbeing Task Force to engage communities and provide support for students.

Professional Educators of Tennessee also sent a letter to the Department of Education, with suggestions for how the state could use CARES Act funding to best advance our schools and enable local school districts, after surveying membership. They provided the raw data along with comments to the Department. The full letter can be read here: https://www.proedtn.org/news/502046/Letter-to-TDOE--Commissioner-Schwinn.htm.

Some of the letter's key points:

• Receipt of CARES Act funds by school districts should not be conditioned on an LEA or school mandating, or in any other way requiring students to attend summer school, implement extended school days, or extend the 180-day school calendar.

• Keeping our education workforce, help avoid employee layoffs in line with the CARES Act Section 18003 (d) (12).

• Remain committed to success in literacy and prioritizing reading as a core value built around student success, educator quality, and parent support.

• Keep children safe and improve our funding for counselors and mental health treatment providers, which the organization feels may be overlooked.

• Re-evaluate and have a public discourse over the cost of assessment and exactly what role and purpose we seek from high stakes testing and the results we seek as a society.

• Modernize our school funding formula to reflect changing 21st century needs, urging a commitment to technological upgrades moving forward be built into any state funding formula.

• IDEA is the 4th most litigated federal civil statute in the United States. States and school districts cannot afford unnecessary legal action during a crisis. The state must give school districts clear guidance on this matter. Unnecessary legal action hurts all students and teachers.

• The organization asked the state to use local and state vendors. They cautioned: We will see an influx of people, groups, and businesses who will be enticed by the allure of state and federal money. These entities may move into our state and may lack the prerequisite buy-in or commitment to our state

• Planning will be essential for the 2020-2021 school year.

Bowman ended the letter: "We appreciate your consideration of our input and look forward to it being included into the final plan that the state submits. Our goal is to work with the state to successfully implement the plan you submit. Because of the courage, commitment, and resilience of our citizens, we know that Tennesseans can meet any challenge."