In a news conference on back-to-school safety, Hawaii State Teachers Association President Osa Tui, Jr., told reporters: “We’re disappointed to hear today that parent concerns and educator concerns were not taking into consideration as the Department of Education plunges headfirst with their plans, and have no plan to shut down schools no matter how high the numbers surge. Our former superintendent, [Dr. Christina] Kishimoto, was unwilling to engage in meaningful discussions and make plans for just this type of situation. We hoped that interim Superintendent [Keith] Hayashi might have taken those concerns into consideration. What we can’t understand is that transmission is so much higher than last year, but lots of contingencies are being removed, like making sure that students are socially distant, or the use of shields during meals. Our members report that despite the department saying that they have strict protocols, there's already been improper masking while forcing large group interactions over the past couple of days when they've had faculty meetings. There's already suspected transmission from some of these meetings as well as letters going out at a number of schools that there have been cases. Sadly, just saying that schools are safe places does not make it so. With 25% of new cases being children, that is extremely worrisome. Our students under 12 have no way to vaccinate themselves, but we're willing to send them to schools on buses and on playgrounds while this extremely contagious variant spreads. The Board of Education was forward thinking when they made the department set up distance learning options. Unfortunately, since none of this planning was done months ago, parents are already being told that distance learning is not available. I asked the governor if we could even minimally start elementary schools in distance learning until the numbers come down and was rebuffed. So while our teachers have no choice but to return to work, parents, if you don't feel school is safe for your children, you are free to exercise your right to keep your children home until you feel that it's safe.”
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