Latest news with #The74
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Educators Say Worst Fears Realized as High Schoolers Detained by ICE
Students in the Bronx high school that Dylan Lopez Contreras attended before he was arrested by immigration agents last month have sent hundreds of letters in recent weeks to the Western Pennsylvania detention center where he is being held. Written in a third-period elective class set aside for this purpose, staff made sure to send the missives individually, rather than in a single pile, hoping Contreras would enjoy their support over time while lawyers fight for his release. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Contreras, 20, didn't always have time for school — working to help support his family would often pull him away, one of his teachers told The 74 — but he left his mark on the ELLIS Prep campus. He was the one who introduced a fun new tradition, one that continues in his absence, maybe even in his honor: He got the kids to play Uno in their downtime. His teacher could hear their laughter over the game in the hallway. So when it came time to send Contreras a supportive note, telling him to stay strong during a dark time, one of them slipped an Uno card inside the envelope. 'I'm going to give him a +4,' the student told his teacher, referring to a card used to delay or prevent an opponent's victory. 'That would make him laugh.' Contreras' May 21 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a routine mandatory court hearing — and that of a Massachusetts high school junior who was picked up by ICE 10 days later on his way to volleyball practice — have intensified anxiety among educators who serve immigrant students. They say their early fears about President Trump's return to power are now playing out. And while these young men engage in separate legal battles, CNN reported last week that some 500 children who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors have been taken into federal custody by agents following 'welfare checks' that many advocates say are wreaking havoc. Families say the children have been increasingly difficult to find and extract from government 'care.' The efforts targeting children — some younger than 10 — may be the result of increased pressure from a reportedly furious White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to boost the number of immigration-related arrests to 3,000 per day. Related Adam Strom, executive director of Re-Imagining Migration, said some school districts have been preparing for this escalation — creating rapid response teams and family support networks that activate when immigration enforcement occurs — but others are shocked at what they're witnessing. 'For other communities, this is a wake-up call … the unimaginable is happening in communities like their own, to students not so different from the kids in their own classrooms,' Strom said. After much protest, 18-year-old Massachusetts teen Marcelo Gomes da Silva was granted bond and released from custody Thursday. He said he had not showered in six days, had crackers for lunch and dinner, slept on a concrete floor with a metallic blanket and had to use the bathroom in front of 40 other men. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said he should never have been taken into custody by ICE agents, who later admitted they were looking for his father. 'While ICE officers never intended to apprehend Gomes-DaSilva, he was found to be in the United States illegally and subject to removal proceedings, so officers made the arrest,' homeland security officials said in a Twitter post. The New York and Massachusetts cases come amid others. An 18-year-old student from Colombia living in Detroit, was picked up May 20 as he was driving friends to join their high school field trip. Federal officials said he already had a removal order from a judge. In another case, a 19-year-old Georgia woman was held in an ICE detention facility for weeks after she was arrested by local police in early May on traffic charges that were later dismissed. As the cop told Ximena Arias Cristobal he was taking her to jail, she replied shakily that she couldn't go because she had finals the next week and her family 'really depends on this.' Released on bond May 22, the young woman is now facing deportation to Mexico, a country she left when she was 4. Far younger children — including toddlers — have been defending themselves in immigration court for years. And the many organizations that have helped them through the system are now under attack. Some have been issued stop work orders — Trump ceased funding for their legal representation — leaving them in further jeopardy. Nancy Duchesneau, a senior pre-K-to-12 research manager at the advocacy organization EdTrust, said it's too early to tell if the country's most recent immigration enforcement campaign — manifested in raids and surprise detentions after court appearances — has led to a drop in school attendance as it has in the past. Duchesneau noted that ICE's aggressive tactics disrupt learning and cause harm to a wide swath of students, not just immigrants or those with foreign-born parents. 'When we see trauma happen to other kids, or to other people, we still have emotional impacts from that,' she said. 'Seeing your friends taken away — kids that you know — even if you are an American citizen, we don't know what else could happen.' Like Strom, she said schools should make sure there are clear policies in place for when ICE agents visit campus and that both students and staff know their rights. Related Eric Marquez, one of Dylan's teachers at ELLIS Preparatory Academy, said he taught Contreras for weeks last fall before the young man, who worked as a delivery driver, started regularly missing school. 'If he had a chance to work, he worked,' Marquez said. His teachers understand that struggle. ELLIS Prep is a small specialized school that serves older newcomer students with limited English, nearly all of whom had arrived in the country just weeks or months before their admission. Many are behind on their credits and some have massive gaps in their education. Despite these challenges, Marquez said many go on to college. The 74 published a 16-month-long undercover investigation last year into how schools respond to enrollment requests from students like Contreras. The fictional teen in The 74's Unwelcome to America project, 'Hector Guerrero,' was also Venezuelan. But unlike Contreras, Hector, 19, was refused admission to more than 200 high schools across the U.S. where he had a legal right to attend based on his age. Related At the time of our reporting, Donald Trump, then a leading presidential contender, was once again vilifying immigrants on the campaign trail, a winning tactic for a man who rode a similar wave of xenophobia into office in 2016. Worry was beginning to build over how far he might go as president to deport undocumented children and families. Now five months into his second term, Marquez remembers the moment he learned his student had been arrested and was living out that fear. 'For me, it was soul-crushing,' the teacher said. 'It hit everyone. It was symbolic in a way. He was that over-age, under-credited student with a limited, interrupted formal education. But he was super smart. He totally can go to college. He really can.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Schwinn's Business Venture After Nomination to Ed Dept. Could Raise Questions
Just one month after President Donald Trump tapped her to be the second in command at the U.S. Department of Education, Penny Schwinn registered a new educational consulting business in Florida with a longtime friend and business colleague, according to state documents reviewed by The 74. The business venture never got off the ground, but the arrangement could raise ethical issues for Schwinn as she heads before the Senate education committee for confirmation Thursday. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The colleague with whom she co-founded the business, Donald Fennoy, told The 74 in an interview that the enterprise, named New Horizon BluePrint Group, was intended to combine their expertise as education leaders. Fennoy, the former superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District, was to consult with districts, while Schwinn, who has experience in Delaware, Texas and most recently as Tennessee's education commissioner, would focus on state leadership. The pair have known each other for a decade, Fennoy said, meeting when they were part of the 2015-16 class of the Broad Academy, an education leadership program. But the business does not appear among financial ties outlined in mandatory disclosure documents Schwinn submitted to the Office of Government Ethics on March 24. One reason could be that three weeks earlier, Schwinn's sister, Katherine Sully, replaced her as manager of the business, according to state documents. Sully, whose LinkedIn profile identifies her as an assistant principal at a Texas charter school, has far less educational experience than Schwinn or Fennoy. On Friday, as The 74 began asking Schwinn and the department questions about the venture, Fennoy dissolved the company, documents show, listing 'business never started' as the reason. 'Right when we were securing the name, she got a phone call,' Fennoy told The 74, referring to the nomination. The plan, he said, was to bring in at least one more leader with district experience and build a team to do work 'nationally and internationally.' On Jan. 18, Trump announced his pick of Schwinn to be the department's deputy secretary, citing her 'strong record of delivering results for children and families.' The LLC wasn't registered until Feb. 18. But pressed for details about why Schwinn registered the business after her nomination, Fennoy appeared confused about the timeline. 'This is on what day?' he asked in response to a reporter's question. He did not respond to additional questions sent by email. Contacted by The 74, Schwinn referred the matter to the Education Department. Madison Bidermann, a department spokesman, declined to address why Schwinn moved forward with a business venture after her nomination and said the nominee 'worked with the relevant ethics officials and resolved any conflicts.' Sully did not respond to attempts to contact her over email. The Florida LLC would have been just one of Schwinn's many business interests, detailed in the disclosure filed with the federal government. She stated in May that if confirmed, she would divest or resign her positions at multiple companies. Historically, potential business conflicts could raise red flags for senators vetting a potential nominee. As deputy secretary, Schwinn would be tasked with overseeing federal policy and a vast network of K-12 programs — the same policy and programs that districts might seek help from a consulting firm to navigate. She would also enter the department at a crisis point, as Education Secretary Linda McMahon drastically cuts staff and cancels funding to reach Trump's goal of eliminating the department. The proposed 2026 budget slashes over $4 billion from K-12 programs, raising concerns that officials won't be able to carry out their congressionally mandated duties The period between nomination and confirmation is typically a time when candidates distance themselves from financial entanglements and potential conflicts of interest. 'Once you're nominated, the typical rule of thumb would be that you kind of slow down,' said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, interim vice president for policy and government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight, a nonprofit focused on government accountability. 'You probably wouldn't establish a new LLC, for example' But Schwinn is not a typical nominee, and this is not a typical administration. Trump reportedly held an exclusive dinner on May 22 for investors in his meme coin, a form of cryptocurrency. As president, he maintains control of his business empire. In the midst of negotiations with Vietnam over punishing U.S. tariffs, for example, the country approved the development of Trump hotels and golf courses. Previous reporting revealed that FBI Director Kash Patel refused to divest from a Chinese 'fast fashion' company, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's wife owned stock in companies that contract with that department. It's not unusual for administrations to run into trouble with officials who have close ties to the industries they oversee, Hedtler-Gaudette said. In 2022, his group filed a complaint about a Biden administration official in charge of digital services who had investments in the tech industry. 'But this administration is unique,' he said, 'and just doesn't seem to take any of that into consideration.' Schwinn is also an unusual choice. She has fans among GOP moderates and Democrats. The former charter school founder and Teach for America alum earned respect for directing COVID relief funds toward academic recovery in Tennessee and implementing far-reaching reforms in reading instruction. For a Trump nominee, she has also faced a high degree of conservative ire. Some of that is due to her past support for the kind of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives the Trump administration wants to eliminate from schools, like hiring more teachers of color. But accusations of conflicts of interest and other ethical lapses have followed her for years. They include a $4.4 million no-bid contract that the Texas Education Agency signed in 2017 with SPEDx, a Georgia software startup, despite what a state audit called Schwinn's 'professional relationship' with a subcontractor for the company. At the time, she was a deputy superintendent of the state agency. Critics also point to an $8 million deal in 2021 that the Tennessee Department of Education signed with TNTP, a teacher training organization where her husband Paul Schwinn was employed at the time. The state's procurement office approved the contract and Schwinn agreed to distance herself from the project, but some lawmakers still considered the deal a 'huge conflict.' ' 'Drain the swamp' is a phrase coined by President Trump, signifying the removal of corruption and special interests from government,' said J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-union association. 'Many conservatives oppose Penny Schwinn's nomination as deputy secretary of education, believing she embodies the interests they want to eliminate from the agency.' Related Others say she left the state better off. She pushed requirements that districts screen students for reading difficulties and use a phonics-based curriculum. After the state passed a literacy law in 2021, roughly 30,000 teachers received summer training in the science of reading. The investments paid off. Tennessee was among the first to see test scores bounce back after the pandemic. Results from 2023-24 show students continue to make gains. To many education advocates, she represents the best chance to shift the national department's focus away from culture war issues and toward bipartisan priorities like improving literacy and maintaining accountability. 'I certainly wholeheartedly hope she gets approved, and think members on both sides would be gratified by her performance in office,' said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Yet dozens of conservative groups and individuals have sent senators letters outlining why they think she's wrong for the job. They list, for example, her affiliation with Chiefs for Change, made up of left-leaning district and state officials, and cite complaints about her support for a reading curriculum they say has elements of critical race theory, which holds that racism in America is systemic. Several were offended that Ruby Bridges' children's book about being the first Black child to integrate a white elementary school referenced 'a large crowd of angry white people.' Others thought a first grade book about seahorses was inappropriate because it explains how males carry the eggs. While never implemented, her plan to conduct 'well-being' home visits during the pandemic still angers parents who consider it an example of government overreach. If the committee advances Schwinn's nomination, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican who is running for governor, is expected to vote against her, multiple sources told The 74. 'She's a Democrat, through and through,' said Elizabeth Story, legislative chair for the Tennessee chapter of Moms for Liberty, the conservative advocacy group that opposes progressive ideas in school about race, sex and gender. 'We need President Trump to withdraw her.' Just after her nomination, she met with anti-DEI activist Chris Rufo in an apparent effort to reassure the Trump administration she would be a good fit. According to his Jan. 21 post on X, she promised to 'shut down the terrible programs at the Department of Education, fight critical race theory, gender cultism, and DEI in America's schools, and support new initiatives on school choice and classical education.' If she loses the support of some conservatives, she may have to lean on Democrats to secure her nomination. Related To Leslie Finger, an assistant political science professor at the University of North Texas, that would be an appropriate finale to a nomination that has veered far from the typical Trump playbook. 'In many ways, she seems opposed to the Trump administration's education agenda,' she said. 'One might think it was meant to show that they want to reach across the aisle on education issues, since she would be supported by bipartisan education reform types. But when has the Trump administration taken actions to signal bipartisanship?' Since leaving her post as Tennessee commissioner, Schwinn has invested in and been involved with companies at the forefront of education, her disclosure forms show. Those include Amira, an AI reading curriculum program; Odyssey, a vendor that manages education savings accounts in multiple states; and Edmentum, an online curriculum and assessment company. She's also a board member for Really Great Reading, a literacy program used in at least five states, and a consultant for BHA Strategy, a lobbying firm. Blake Harris, former communications director for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, founded BHA, where Schwinn served as chief operating officer until February. Two other LLCs she owns would cease operations, she wrote in a letter to the Education Department. John Pelissero, a government ethics expert at Santa Clara University in California, said her financial ties deserve a closer look. 'What she puts down on her disclosure form for her confirmation is always kind of an important starting point for how transparent she will be,' he said. 'Scrutiny should be given to whether she has the capacity to demonstrate that she'll act in the public interest.' Related Schwinn isn't the first Trump nominee to face opposition from Republicans. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former majority leader from Kentucky, voted against Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But those objections focused more on the nominees' qualifications, said Jonathan Collins, an assistant professor of education and political science at Teachers College, Columbia University. Conservatives' concerns about Schwinn, 'seem like more of a test — or critique — of her loyalty to the new Republican culture war coalition,' he said. 'She's as moderate as it gets. She's a pragmatist who in no way pushes far-left progressive policies.' Under McMahon, the department required states to sign a certification saying they wouldn't implement DEI programs. The Office for Civil Rights has also prioritized investigations into state and district policies allowing transgender students to compete against girls in school sports. Not all parental rights advocates are opposed to her nomination. Moms for America, founded in 2004, is a conservative, Christian organization that shares many of the same values as Moms for Liberty. Last year, the group presented Trump with its Man of the Century Award. The organization, however, said Schwinn would make 'an excellent choice' for deputy secretary, citing her 'extensive experience as an educator, innovator and state leader.' As the department's number two, she would oversee K-12 initiatives, which McMahon has said will prioritize the science of reading, school choice and giving states more control over education. 'She has a proven ability to improve student outcomes, champion school choice, and navigate crises like the pandemic,' the organization said in a statement to The 74. 'We stand by her candidacy for nomination as deputy education secretary and wish her the best in that role.' Disclosure: According to financial disclosure documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics, Penny Schwinn earned $250,000 as a consultant and adviser to the Walton Family Foundation. The foundation provides financial support to The 74.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Opinion: How I Coach All Educators at My Baltimore HS to Be Reading & Writing Teachers
If you've been following education news, you know students' reading and writing skills remain low, especially after the pandemic, with no state having made gains since 2022. School districts need to do more to ensure every student enters adulthood fully literate. One step is to train all educators — not just those in elementary and English classes — to be reading teachers. Many states, including Maryland, where I live and work as a literacy coach, are embracing the science of reading, which uses brain science to teach children how to read. However, these efforts are focused at the elementary level, and older students are going through high school without the benefit of these best practices. My district, Baltimore City Public Schools, is working to address that problem. For the last four years, I have helped all teachers at Reginald F. Lewis High School weave reading and writing into their lessons. This is unusual, because while the district has had literacy coaches in elementary and secondary schools, most work only with English Language Arts teachers. This isn't enough. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Consider this: During a team meeting, teachers and I reviewed Maryland's state English test and found it had just one set of questions related to a literature passage. The rest were based on informational texts, such as historical primary source documents, scientific reports and graphs. Subject-matter teachers are best-suited to help students learn to read and analyze these passages. While all the teachers I work with know that students are coming to them with large literacy gaps, most weren't accustomed to working with a coach, especially a literacy coach. They were skeptical at first. Overcoming that required taking key steps. Related First, my principal had to make it clear that literacy learning was a schoolwide responsibility and that I was there to help. Then, I had to build strong relationships with teachers. I did that by listening, learning about the challenges they faced, observing instruction and providing feedback, and being a consistent and supportive presence in their classrooms. We studied data and set goals together. It was especially important to be patient. Change of this kind takes more than a single school year. Across classrooms, we raised the rigor. Because reading achievement was low, teachers had been using texts designed for elementary or middle schoolers. But what our high schoolers needed was reading material aligned to high school expectations. My job was to give teachers tools that they could use to help students understand what they were reading. These included strategies such as previewing complex vocabulary with students before diving into reading and offering multiple opportunities and ways to access difficult texts, such as through read-alouds or partnered reading. Those approaches improve reading fluency and are particularly appropriate when books or articles are challenging. Yet, even as the teachers helped students to access harder books, they had to pull back on doing too much. I found they were reading aloud texts that students were capable of reading on their own, or oversimplifying assignments and taking away opportunities for students to write answers that showed what they really knew. Related Today, the teachers know that I'm there to help their students learn in their particular content area and are proud that, after a sharp dip in proficiency directly after the pandemic, our students have made significant gains in English language arts proficiency. Overall, our school went from 10% English proficiency in 2023 to 27% in 2024, and we met our literacy progress goals for the first time since the pandemic. Teachers also like the engagement they see in their classrooms when students read aloud to their partners or speak up to answer questions. More recently, after we realized students were skipping written response questions on state assessments, we started weaving writing instruction into the school day. To tackle this, our school made writing instruction the focus of professional development and coaching. We all read 'The Writing Revolution,' by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler, and I provided support to teachers based on the approach in the book and training I received. Many teachers at first lacked confidence around teaching components of good writing, so I provided explicit modeling and coaching. In a math class, I'd have a teacher demonstrate what good writing looks like in that grade and subject — for example, writing a response to a question — and then we'd discuss ways to help students reach that level of proficiency. Today, nearly all teachers in my school are more comfortable providing writing instruction in their content area, and nearly all implement some kind of writing instruction every day. This means that students get multiple chances to practice writing and learn particular skills. I love hearing them saying things like, 'All my teachers are talking about segment fragments!' Or, 'Now we have to use conjunctions everywhere!' In January, teachers had reported that half or more of their students skipped writing tasks on any assignment. Today, nearly every student writes answers to assignments, and basic writing mistakes have dwindled. I've also been working to help encourage students to read independently. NAEP survey data show that a mere 14% of 13-year-olds read for enjoyment daily. It's a shocking figure but it reflects what I see. I often ask students what they like to read, and unfortunately a common answer is, 'I don't know. I don't really like reading.' Related After one of these exchanges, I asked my 10-year-old, who loves curling up with a book, what he would say to that. 'I would say they just haven't found the right book yet!' he replied. High schoolers have tons of interests and opinions; they just need to find a book based on these interests to ignite a love for reading. Sometimes I ask kids what movies they like, and the answer usually helps make a connection to books. I also encourage families to participate in summer library programs that give kids and adults a free book of their choice each month. I believe the successes my school has seen on classroom tests in literacy will also show in the state exams our students recently took. More importantly, I'm confident the skills they've learned will make a lasting difference in their lives, whatever path they choose.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Some 300 West Virginia school vaccine exemptions granted under new, laxer policy
The West Virginia Department of Health has approved just over 330 requests for religious and philosophical exemptions to West Virginia's school vaccine policy for this school year and 35 have been granted for the coming year, according to records obtained by The 74. (Getty Images) This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox. Just over 330 requests for religious and philosophical exemptions to West Virginia's school vaccine policy have been submitted — and approved — for this school year and 35 have been granted for the coming year, according to records obtained by The 74. The newly approved religious and philosophical exemptions already outpace the 203 permanent medical exemptions granted in the state over the past decade, at one time the only exemptions allowed in West Virginia. Before January, when Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed an executive order opening the door for broader exemptions, the state had some of the nation's strictest childhood vaccination policies. The loosening of those policies is occurring amid a deadly measles outbreak that has infected over 1,000 people across 30 states and despite state legislators rejecting a bill in March which would have codified religious exemptions into state law. The conflict between the governor's order and the legislature's action has led to confusion over how West Virginia officials should proceed and could ultimately lead to legal action between the two branches of government. In the meantime, the West Virginia Department of Health is granting religious and philosophical exemptions based on the governor's order and shared those numbers in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The 74. No requests for the newer category of exemptions has been denied, the department said. In contrast, 125 requests for medical exemptions to mandatory school vaccines have been rejected since 2015. Temporary medical exemptions have been granted to 288 West Virginia children in the past decade. Richard Hughes, a George Washington University law professor and leading vaccine law expert, said the 331 religious and philosophical exemptions sought in just five months represent a 'drastic, dramatic increase in the request for exemptions, and that's going to potentially have public health consequences.' He added the state appears to be approving them liberally and without real scrutiny. 'Clearly, when you open the door to these types of exemptions, people use them,' he said. 'There has been evidence before that when only religious exemption is available, people request them without any really sincerely held belief. This just opens the floodgates.' While the 331 students who have received exemptions represent a very small percentage of the approximately 251,000 children enrolled in public schools across the state, experts fear the number will continue to rapidly climb, especially at the start of the coming school year. 'You see how fast we approved those? Hundred percent approved … So if we keep allowing an executive order that goes against West Virginia code, it's going to change the vaccination rate …' said Sissy Price, a registered nurse who serves as co-director of West Virginia Families for Immunization. 'And it's not a matter of if it's going to happen, it's a matter of when.' Experts also emphasized the importance of knowing which regions or schools in West Virginia the exempted students come from to better understand the impact on herd immunity and to allow parents — especially those of immunocompromised students — to make informed decisions about where to send their kids to school. Despite the governor's insistence that the state collect that information, an official at the Health Department wrote in an email to The 74, 'Nobody in the Department of Health or the Bureau for Public [Health] tracks that.' 'There's a failure of government there,' said Northe Saunders, executive director of the pro-vaccine SAFE Communities Coalition. 'There's a failure of making sure that parents can make the best informed decision that they can if we don't know what immunization rates are like at the school level.' The governor's office and the Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment. So far, West Virginia has no reported measles cases. Two children, both of whom were unvaccinated, have died during the current outbreak, whose case numbers have already surpassed 2024's total and mark the second-highest number of confirmed cases in a year since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Some 96% of reported infections have involved a person who was unvaccinated or whose status was unknown and 13% have resulted in hospitalization. In issuing his Jan. 14 executive order, Morrisey relied on an interpretation of the state's 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. He argued that the law as it stood 'forces' some West Virginians 'to choose between their religious belief and their children's fundamental right to public education,' and directed the commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health and the state health officer to establish a process for parents to object. The executive order noted that a 'written, signed objection' was sufficient. Based on the legislature voting down the measure to codify the broader exemption category, state schools Superintendent Michele Blatt issued a memo earlier this month to county superintendents recommending that students not be allowed to attend school next year without required immunizations, regardless of requests for religious exemptions. 'We are faced with the fact that state law has not been changed by the Legislature and there is no religious exemption provided for in West Virginia law,' Blatt wrote, according to reporting by West Virginia Watch. But, by the end of the day she rescinded the memo, saying she had done so 'at the Governor's request.' Morrisey then issued a letter May 9 saying that despite the legislative hurdle, the executive order 'still stands, and I have no intention of rescinding it.' He further clarified the process to receive an exemption: Each year, parents or guardians must send a signed letter with basic information including their child's name, date of birth and mailing address. Notably, the letter does not need to include the reason for the requested exemption. In the wake of this confusion, some school districts have begun seeking legal guidance about how to respond. West Virginia is not an outlier in its quest to allow parents to opt their children out of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine that is a requirement in all 50 states for children entering child care and schools. 'It goes towards the general erosion of vaccine policy,' said Saunders. 'We've seen these kinds of small, incremental changes that are eroding vaccine policy in states across the country. There are still school entry requirements in West Virginia — just like there are in every single state — but this is one other chink in the armor of strong vaccine policy driving strong immunization rates.' Childhood vaccination rates have been falling since COVID, and there's fear that decline will accelerate now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic, is heading the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. He initially downplayed the measles spread in late February, and on May 14, at his first appearance in Congress since his confirmation, he waffled on the importance of vaccines. When asked if he would vaccinate a child of his own against measles today he responded, 'Probably for measles. What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.' He continued, 'I don't want to make it seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.' Last week, the Food and Drug Administration, which falls under HHS, released updated guidance for COVID vaccines, saying they may require additional studies before approving the shots for healthy Americans younger than 65. Candice Lefeber, executive director of West Virginia's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said this move played into one of her fears: 'I think the administration is going to make it harder for vaccines to be available.' 'Not only are we not going to require it, but then access to vaccines would be compromised,' she continued. 'It's just really disheartening for science and for our country — and we're in big trouble.' This story was produced by The 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Some 300 W. Virginia School Vaccine Exemptions Granted Under New, Laxer Policy
Just over 330 requests for religious and philosophical exemptions to West Virginia's school vaccine policy have been submitted — and approved — for this school year and 35 have been granted for the coming year, according to records obtained by The 74. The newly approved religious and philosophical exemptions already outpace the 203 permanent medical exemptions granted in the state over the past decade, at one time the only exemptions allowed in West Virginia. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Before January, when Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed an executive order opening the door for broader exemptions, the state had some of the nation's strictest childhood vaccination policies. The loosening of those policies is occurring amid a deadly measles outbreak that has infected over 1,000 people across 30 states and despite state legislators rejecting a bill in March which would have codified religious exemptions into state law. The conflict between the governor's order and the legislature's action has led to confusion over how West Virginia officials should proceed and could ultimately lead to legal action between the two branches of government. In the meantime, the West Virginia Department of Health is granting religious and philosophical exemptions based on the governor's order and shared those numbers in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The 74. No requests for the newer category of exemptions has been denied, the department said. In contrast, 125 requests for medical exemptions to mandatory school vaccines have been rejected since 2015. Temporary medical exemptions have been granted to 288 West Virginia children in the past decade. Richard Hughes, a George Washington University law professor and leading vaccine law expert, said the 331 religious and philosophical exemptions sought in just five months represent a 'drastic, dramatic increase in the request for exemptions, and that's going to potentially have public health consequences.' He added the state appears to be approving them liberally and without real scrutiny. 'Clearly, when you open the door to these types of exemptions, people use them,' he said. 'There has been evidence before that when only religious exemption is available, people request them without any really sincerely held belief. This just opens the floodgates.' While the 331 students who have received exemptions represent a very small percentage of the approximately 251,000 children enrolled in public schools across the state, experts fear the number will continue to rapidly climb, especially at the start of the coming school year. 'You see how fast we approved those? Hundred percent approved … So if we keep allowing an executive order that goes against West Virginia code, it's going to change the vaccination rate …' said Sissy Price, a registered nurse who serves as co-director of West Virginia Families for Immunization. 'And it's not a matter of if it's going to happen, it's a matter of when.' Experts also emphasized the importance of knowing which regions or schools in West Virginia the exempted students come from to better understand the impact on herd immunity and to allow parents — especially those of immunocompromised students — to make informed decisions about where to send their kids to school. Despite the governor's insistence that the state collect that information, an official at the Health Department wrote in an email to The 74, 'Nobody in the Department of Health or the Bureau for Public [Health] tracks that.' 'There's a failure of government there,' said Northe Saunders, executive director of the pro-vaccine SAFE Communities Coalition. 'There's a failure of making sure that parents can make the best informed decision that they can if we don't know what immunization rates are like at the school level.' So far, West Virginia has no reported measles cases. Two children, both of whom were unvaccinated, have died during the current outbreak, whose case numbers have already surpassed 2024's total and mark the second-highest number of confirmed cases in a year since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. Some 96% of reported infections have involved a person who was unvaccinated or whose status was unknown and 13% have resulted in hospitalization. Related In issuing his Jan. 14 executive order, Morrisey relied on an interpretation of the state's 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. He argued that the law as it stood 'forces' some West Virginians 'to choose between their religious belief and their children's fundamental right to public education,' and directed the commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health and the state health officer to establish a process for parents to object. The executive order noted that a 'written, signed objection' was sufficient. Related Based on the legislature voting down the measure to codify the broader exemption category, state schools Superintendent Michele Blatt issued a memo earlier this month to county superintendents recommending that students not be allowed to attend school next year without required immunizations, regardless of requests for religious exemptions. 'We are faced with the fact that state law has not been changed by the Legislature and there is no religious exemption provided for in West Virginia law,' Blatt wrote, according to reporting by West Virginia Watch. But, by the end of the day she rescinded the memo, saying she had done so 'at the Governor's request.' Morrisey then issued a letter May 9 saying that despite the legislative hurdle, the executive order 'still stands, and I have no intention of rescinding it.' He further clarified the process to receive an exemption: Each year, parents or guardians must send a signed letter with basic information including their child's name, date of birth and mailing address. Notably, the letter does not need to include the reason for the requested exemption. In the wake of this confusion, some school districts have begun seeking legal guidance about how to respond. West Virginia is not an outlier in its quest to allow parents to opt their children out of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine that is a requirement in all 50 states for children entering child care and schools. 'It goes towards the general erosion of vaccine policy,' said Saunders. 'We've seen these kinds of small, incremental changes that are eroding vaccine policy in states across the country. There are still school entry requirements in West Virginia — just like there are in every single state — but this is one other chink in the armor of strong vaccine policy driving strong immunization rates.' Childhood vaccination rates have been falling since COVID, and there's fear that decline will accelerate now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic, is heading the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. He initially downplayed the measles spread in late February, and on May 14, at his first appearance in Congress since his confirmation, he waffled on the importance of vaccines. Related When asked if he would vaccinate a child of his own against measles today he responded, 'Probably for measles. What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.' He continued, 'I don't want to make it seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.' Last week, the Food and Drug Administration, which falls under HHS, released updated guidance for COVID vaccines, saying they may require additional studies before approving the shots for healthy Americans younger than 65. Candice Lefeber, executive director of West Virginia's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said this move played into one of her fears: 'I think the administration is going to make it harder for vaccines to be available.' 'Not only are we not going to require it, but then access to vaccines would be compromised,' she continued. 'It's just really disheartening for science and for our country — and we're in big trouble.'
