Teachers Union Chief Says Biden Transition Solicited School Reopening Advice

Teachers Union Leader Admits Biden Transition Team Sought Advice on School Closures

The leader of a prominent teachers union told Congress on Wednesday that the Biden transition team solicited advice on school closures during the COVID pandemic, preceding a sweeping Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that critics have faulted for keeping children out of classrooms for too long.

Union Boss Admits to Conversations with Biden Transition Team

During a hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten admitted that the Biden transition team reached out to her union for advice. Further questioning led Weingarten to say she could not remember exactly when conversations with the CDC began. But ultimately, the union boss said that she recalled the CDC setting up a conference call on January 29, 2021, which would be a little more than a week after President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Intense Focus on CDC

Intense focus on the CDC during the hearing followed the New York Post reporting that records indicated the AFT and another teachers union, the National Education Association, were in communication with the health agency and the White House. Those records revealed Weingarten spoke twice with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in the days leading up to the CDC releasing in February 2021 updated guidance on reopening schools with various precautions after researchers began to find that schools were not major spreaders of COVID.

Union Denies Meddling with CDC Guidelines

Weingarten denied that the union suggested “line-by-line edits” and argued that AFT’s involvement in crafting public health policies was “completely fitting and proper” since the CDC should be expected to “consult with education groups.”

Union Committed to Resuming In-Person Learning Safely

In her prepared remarks, Weingarten argued AFT was committed to resuming in-person learning “safely” at schools across the country and she accused the Trump administration of overseeing a “botched response.”

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