Even when the pandemic is over, our schools cannot go “back to normal.”
We are rightfully debating what it would take to make our schools safe for reopening — to the extent that it is even possible at this moment, with the pandemic worsening and Black, Latinx, and Indigenous families harmed at the highest rates.
But as a parent, former teacher, and education civil rights attorney, I know the pandemic should only be part of the discussion on schools reopening because some of our students have never been safe in our schools. And some of our schools have never given our students the education they deserved.
For some of our country’s students, school safety and preparedness means a lot more than protecting them from COVID-19. What does school readiness look like to Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students, and students with disabilities, who are over-policed and over-disciplined? To girls and to all LGBTQ+ students who are harassed and not protected? To Black girls who have their bodies policed by dress codes? To Latina girls whose schools fail to meet their mental health needs?
What does school readiness look like to LGBTQ+ students of color, who experience every one of those concerns combined? According to GLSEN’s reports, over half of all LGBTQ+ Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and AAPI students feel unsafe in their schools just for being who they are.