Will County Gazette

Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives District 86 race Scott Greene recently provided a written statement regarding school closures. 

A Unicef report from October 2021 revealed that government-mandated lockdowns and school closures negatively impact children. The report found that closures lead to an increase in fear, stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, loss of learning, and poor physical activity and sleeping habits. To Greene, school closures became unacceptable after a certain amount of time.

“The initial closure was acceptable,” Greene said. “This allowed for communities and parents to gather their bearings about what is happening. After a certain time, it was out of line and detrimental to our children. Illinois had a plan written for times like this, and it was not followed.”

Total enrollment in pre-K-12 schools in Illinois declined by 3.6%, or roughly 70,000 students, during the 2020-2021 school year, according to Capitol News Illinois.

“Chronic absenteeism increased during that school year, with 22.8% of all Illinois students missing 10% or more of all school days,” Illinois State Board of Education’s Research and Evaluation Officer Brenda Dixon said to Capitol News Illinois. “We know from national studies from the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that school districts serving primarily Black and Hispanic students provided the least access to in-person learning last year. We suspect that less access to in-person learning contributed to lower engagement among Black and Hispanic students.”  

The number of students who exhibited grade level competence in math and English language arts decreased, with 17.8% fewer students displaying math proficiency, and 16.6% fewer students demonstrating proficiency in English.

“Parents were very frustrated,” Greene said of the closures. “Many watched their students that once excelled in school become very lethargic and did poorly. Many students, list opportunities because of the shutdowns (that) altered the course of their life. Other parents were glad schools were shut down and with digital, as they were able to see what was being taught to their student(s), and became a wake-up moment that schools need a change. This might be the most positive thing about the shutdown; awakening parents to the fact that state-funded schools have become indoctrination centers and that needs to change.”

Greene believes school closures, as well as the curriculum, should be a “locally controlled issue,” and that comprehensive sexuality education should not be legislated by Springfield, and that Senate Bill 818 should be repealed. 

In March, the ISBE announced a $17 million grant to establish a supplemental-learning program for students impacted by school closures, according to a release. The program will be geared specifically toward low-income students.  

According to Illinois Policy, school districts that offered more in-person learning saw smaller declines in enrollment than schools that primarily used remote learning.