Anthony Fauci hopeful COVID vaccines get full OK by FDA within weeks
The U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that he was hopeful the Food and Drug Administration will give full approval to the coronavirus vaccine by month’s end and predicted the potential move will spur a wave of vaccine mandates in the private sector as well as schools and universities. The FDA has only granted emergency-use approval of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the agency is expected to soon give full approval to Pfizer. The Biden administration has stated that the federal government will not mandate vaccinations beyond the federal workforce but is increasingly urging state and local governments as well as businesses to consider such mandates. Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said “mandates at the local level need to be done” to help curb the spread of the virus. “I hope — I don’t predict — I hope that it will be within the next few weeks. I hope it’s within the month of August,” Fauci said of FDA approval of the vaccine. “If that’s the case, you’re going to see the empowerment of local enterprises, giving mandates that could be colleges, universities, places of business, a whole variety, and I strongly support that. The time has come. … We’ve got to go the extra step to get people vaccinated.” Fauci’s comments come as the Biden administration is weighing what levers it can push to encourage more unvaccinated Americans to get their shots as the delta variant continues to surge through much of the United States. Biden recently approved rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates, and travel restrictions. Biden is also awaiting a formal recommendation from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on potentially requiring U.S. troops to get vaccinated. The administration has become more vocal in its support of vaccine mandates at a moment when high-profile companies have informed employees that coronavirus vaccination requirements are in the works, and some localities have adopted or are contemplating vaccine requirements to dine indoors. United Airlines informed its employees that they will need to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 25 or five weeks after the FDA grants full approval to one of the vaccines — whichever date comes first. Disney and Walmart have announced vaccine mandates for white-collar workers, and Microsoft, Google, and Facebook said they will require proof of vaccination for employees and visitors to their U.S. offices. Tyson Foods has also announced it will require all U.S. employees to get vaccinated by November. There’s also been pushback. The U.S. Supreme Court last week was asked to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s the first time the high court has been asked to weigh in on a vaccine mandate and comes as some corporations, states, and cities are also contemplating or have adopted vaccine requirements for workers or even to dine indoors. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers union, said on Sunday that she personally supports a vaccine mandate for educators. “As a matter of personal conscience, I think that we need to be working with our employers — not opposing them on vaccine mandates,” said Weingarten, who estimated about 90% of AFT members are already vaccinated. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, on Sunday all but endorsed vaccine mandates, saying, “I celebrate when I see businesses deciding that they’re going to mandate that for their employees.” “Yes, I think we ought to use every public health tool we can when people are dying,” Collins said. Fauci and Weingarten spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Collins appeared on ABC’s “This Week.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Study: Despite modest income, teachers pay for class needs
Every year Anna Graven dips into her modest teacher salary and spends her own money to buy bulletin boards, pencils, paper, highlighters and tissues for her high school students in Oklahoma City. So do almost all of her colleagues across the nation. Nearly all public school teachers report digging into their pockets to pay for school supplies, spending nearly $480 a year, far more than the federal $250 tax deduction available to teachers, according to a study by the National Center of Education Statistics released Tuesday. The findings come as teachers across the country are walking out of classrooms to protest low pay and demand pay raises. Helping teachers pay for classroom supplies was a key demand during the Arizona teachers’ strike. Ninety-four percent of public school teachers say they spent their own money on notebooks, pens and other supplies in the 2014-15 school year without reimbursement, according to the study. The average amount spent was $479. About 44 percent spent $250 or less, while 36 percent spent $251 to $500. Teachers who spend their personal money on children’s classroom needs are able to reduce their taxable income by $250. That amounts to roughly $30-to-$60 in savings for each teacher, according to the American Federation of Teachers, a relatively small sum that is still regarded as a token of appreciation by educators. Teachers pushed back strongly last year when the tax bill passed by the House called for eliminating the deduction altogether. The Senate version of the bill, meanwhile, sought to raise the deduction to $500. In the end, the two chambers reached a compromise, and the deduction remained unchanged. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, said Tuesday that the study demonstrates a lack of funding of public schools in America. “Educators want to help children; that is why as long as their kids lack the essentials, educators will continue to dig deep, while fighting the defunding and underinvestment that created this crisis in the first place,” Weingarten said in a statement. “There is no other job I know where the workers subsidize what should be a cost borne by an employer as a necessary ingredient of the job.” The study also found that teachers in high-poverty schools were more likely to spend personal money on school supplies. Eighty-six percent of teachers in schools that don’t participate in free or reduced lunch school program said they paid for classroom needs, while around 94 percent to 95 percent of teachers in schools that did participate in the programs said they paid for classroom needs. Graven, who teachers American literature at an Oklahoma City high school, says the school provides very limited supplies and she and her colleagues are forced to pay out of pocket. “We do what we need to do for our students and for us to be able to do our job,” Graven said. “It would be less of a burden if we were also paid a livable wage.” Graven said a teacher like her, with a bachelor’s degree and 18 years of experience, is earning around $42,000 a year. At times Graven has contemplated going into a new profession that pays better. “It’s not an easy job, it’s very stressful and you think, ‘Is it all worth it?’” Graven said. “And then there will be that student that will make you realize that it is worth it.” Some teachers have even gone online to launch crowdfunding campaigns. The web site Gofundme.com has thousands of pages where teachers or activists are raising money to help pay for classroom supplies. The company has even compiled a guidebook to help teachers build effective campaigns, according to Heidi Hagberg, a spokeswoman for Gofundme. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Darryl Paulson: Do universities discriminate? Promoting ideological diversity, free speech in U.S. universities
In the previous three pieces, I have written about how university hiring policies have led to the virtual exclusion of conservatives on college faculties. We have seen how universities have wrapped students in a protective cocoon to prevent them from hearing speech that might be offensive with the use of speech codes, safe spaces, and micro-aggressions. Finally, we have seen how the academy has abandoned its mission of exposing students to diverse views and it some cases has actually encouraged students to shout down speakers with unpopular views. Can anything be done to encourage universities to fulfill their mission of fostering diversity in all areas, including ideological diversity? This will not be easy, especially in the age of Trump. Liberal college campuses are more likely to dig in their heels and protect the academy from the evils of Trumpism. The situation will probably grow worse, not better in most campuses. We need to foster ideological diversity for the same reasons we need racial and gender diversity. Universities should reflect the communities they represent, and this is clearly not the case today. Former Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell argued in a 1978 case that diversity was essential to a universities mission. The more diverse the faculty and student body, the more robust will be the exchange of ideas. Yale University law professor Peter Schuck, in his book Diversity in America, contends that faculty have a “higher responsibility to our standards, ourselves and our disciplines that our preferences for ideological homogeneity and faculty-lounge echo chambers betray.” Echoing that sentiment, John McGinnis of Northwestern Law School writes that “liberal ideas might well be strengthened and made more effective if liberals had to run a more conservative gauntlet among their own colleagues when developing them.” The growing conservative attack on higher education by state legislators should come as no surprise. Decades of liberal orthodoxy have led conservative legislators to cut university funding and impose more programmatic controls. Why would any group provide financial support to another institution that constantly demeans conservative ideas and values and refuses to hire them on their faculty? It is in the best interest of universities to improve ideological diversity for two primary reasons: it is the right thing to do, and the university will reap financial benefits. Approaches to ideological Diversity Some universities, including Harvard, Penn State, the University of Texas and others have adopted “conservative coming out days.” I am not sure if this means that faculty who have not come out as conservatives should declare their philosophy, or that universities should seek out conservative faculty through affirmative action. Most conservatives would reject an affirmative action approach. Other universities are showcasing their commitment to ideological diversity by creating a specific faculty line for conservatives. The University of Colorado created an endowed chair in Conservative Thought and Policy. One or two conservative hires hardly indicates a commitment to a diversified faculty. I am not sure that any faculty member wants to be viewed as the “conservative hire.” Will students and faculty come to his or her office to see what a conservative looks like? Some conservatives have pushed for the adoption of the Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR) created by conservative activist David Horowitz and his Center for the Study of Popular Culture. The Bill of Rights contains eight provisions relating to faculty recruitment and hiring, free speech, research and campus speakers. A number of state legislatures have adopted the Academic Bill of Rights over the opposition of the American Association of University Professors, the American Federation of Teachers and several other groups. Critics argue that ABOR “infringes academic freedom in the very act of purporting to protect it.” Money, or the lack of money, is the lifeblood of a university. Some conservatives have urged alumna should withhold financial support for their university until it supports ideological diversity. Universities must end their policies of Groupthink which excludes conservative students and faculty from meaningful participation in university life. Speech codes and safe spaces must end, as well as the coddling of easily offended students. Safe places do not foster education, but create an unreal scenario of what students will face in the real world. Too often, universities have smothered free speech rather than fostering it. When students demand safe places, they often mean I disagree with your ideas, so shut up! Too often, universities have become home to Orwellian offices such as the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. That is fine for groups and ideas that have the universities seal of approval, but it often means the “not welcome” sign is posted for unpopular and undesirable groups. The election of Donald Trump has led to a surge in the sale of George Orwell’s 1984. New print runs have occurred to keep up with the growing demand for the book. I would just remind readers that Orwell’s book was not directed at any specific individual or philosophy, but at authoritarianism in all of its forms. The clash of ideas is the real mission of a university. How can the clash of ideas be heard if not all of the parties are allowed to express their views? How can universities promote diversity in race, gender and sexual orientation, but neglect ideological diversity? Ideological diversity will benefit the university intellectually, as well as financially. We must end the ideological homogeneity that dominates higher education and put an end to what Orwell called “smelly little orthodoxies.” ___ Darryl Paulson is Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.
As Jeb Bush campaigns, Florida struggles with his schools legacy
Jeb Bush‘s signature achievement in education policy as Florida governor may be at risk of coming apart. A champion of what became known as Common Core education standards, Bush pushed a set of high-stakes tests for students and a system of grading schools as the centerpiece of an education agenda that defines much of his legacy in office. In the Republican presidential campaign, any mention of Common Core is a red flag for conservatives and Bush rarely talks about the program by its name. But he has not backed down on what is the core of Common Core — the conviction that states need to raise their school standards. In Florida, a troubled rollout of new standardized testing linked to the standards has created a large enough backlash that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature agreed to spend nearly $600,000 to study whether the tests should continue. The study, released last month, affirmed the value of the tests. That’s done little to assuage critics and instead appears to be giving momentum to a push to junk the testing regimen that Bush put into place. School superintendents and parents are complaining loudly, and all that noise may begin to mar the “Florida model” that Bush talks about in his presidential campaign. “This state and its accountability program have been dealt severe blows in the past couple of years,” Miami Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told the state education board in September. “Sadly it has lost a lot of the credibility it once had with the public.” Bush’s ambitious plan called for using tests to measure student performance and to assign an A-to-F grade to schools that translated into financial rewards, or sanctions for low-performing schools. His initial plan also allowed students in poorly performing schools to receive private school vouchers, although that program was thrown out by the courts. Bush left office in 2007, but he remained an outsized influence over education policy thanks to former aides, advisers and allies who held key posts in the Legislature and on the state board that oversees education. Florida’s schools showed signs of improvement during Bush’s eight years as governor. Reading scores for eighth graders, for example, rose faster than scores nationally from 1998 to 2011, according to an analysis based on scores used for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” The state also saw improvements in math scores and in the performance of its black and Hispanic students. Florida’s graduation rate has steadily risen since Bush became governor, but remains below the national average. Like most other states, Florida initially embraced the Common Core standards in 2010. Then-State Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair, who had opened a charter school with Bush, called them the “vital next step on Florida’s long-standing and successful education reform journey.” Common Core was largely an initiative of state officials and is not a federal program or requirement. But when the Obama administration swung behind the effort and began giving financial incentives to states that adopted the standards, that meant, in effect, a penalty on states that didn’t. And that gave rise to complaints that Washington was intruding on education matters that should be left to state and local people. Bush tells crowds he does not favor federal interference in education but states must do better by students and stop “lowering expectations and dumbing down everything.” He says that whatever problems Florida is having now are not his responsibility. “We created accountability, school choice, ending social promotion and we executed faithfully on all these things and we got a great result,” Bush said Wednesday after a campaign event in Iowa. “If other circumstances change, it’s the responsibility of the people there to focus on these things. I don’t follow it every day but Florida is now out of the bottom, and we’ve had gains post-my time there.” Just as Bush has largely purged Common Core from his vocabulary, Florida legislators have removed all references to it in state law. In response to complaints from parents about onerous tests, they agreed to scale them back. But they’ve kept the bulk of the standards in place. Legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Scott pushed to have Florida back out of a consortium that was drawing up a national test tied to the standards. But that withdrawal left education officials scrambling to come up with a replacement. They turned to a test drawn up initially for Utah schools. Technical glitches and even a cyberattack marred the administration of the test in the spring. Students were confronted with blank screens when they tried to log on to take it. For grading schools and evaluating teachers, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart says Florida will still use this year’s scores because the recent study supports that move. Carvalho and other school superintendents are sharply criticizing that decision and want Florida to suspend the use of school grades this year, saying they have lost “confidence” in that system. Some legislators are now discussing replacing the test in high school grades with the SAT or ACT college exams. “The American public is fed up with Common Core testing, which then reinforces the distrust in who they perceive is responsible,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. State Sen. Don Gaetz, a self-proclaimed “Bush acolyte” who called for backing out of the national testing consortium when he was Senate president, said it’s wrong to “hang around Jeb Bush’s neck” the state’s current problems. “Nobody was able to mount a challenge to the validity of the assessment while Jeb Bush was governor,” said Gaetz. The problems “haven’t occurred because of Jeb Bush.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
