I've been following the joint committee on education's hearing this afternoon. It was 4 hours long and educators who testified covered a lot of ground! State leaders were up first. A thread...

Education Secretary Peyser & Commissioner Riley both mentioned the state task force that was recently created to plan for how and when schools will re-open. "There is no question that remote learning will be a much larger factor in planning for the next school year" said Peyser

He added that "will require stringent protocols to ensure social distancing, personal hygiene, and effective cleaning, along with daily measures to assess student and staff health, testing protocols, and systems for contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine."

Riley highlighted internet access. He said more than 9% of kids don't have access to reliable internet and 15% don't have access to an exclusive device. Schools are distributing hotspots and laptops to families that need it. The expected cost for those is around $50 million.

Glenn Koocher with MASC was up next. He highlighted parental concerns over student engagement and fears that schools might lose arts programs. There were also real concerns about budgets after this crisis. Noted that he's hearing about more teachers retiring.

Tom Scott with MASS also touched on budget concerns. He said Weymouth Schools are looking at a $2.2 million gap between school needs and what's available in the city budget. He said we may see reductions in force in districts across the state.

"In this climate, with everything that’s going on, the idea is very painful but its an eventuality we may need to face," said Scott. "How are we going to deal with transportation costs...The need for PPE? Who is going to pay for that cost?"

Meeting wrapped up w testimony from districts including Beverly, Revere, and a coalition from rural schools. Student participation was a big concern. Revere superintendent Dianne Kelly said 80% of kids are engaging regularly but only 50% of kids have fully engaged since March

The district has loaned out 4,300ish devices, but that's still not enough for 1:1. "I worry about the condition of the devices when they come back...we're also worried about what we'll do if we come back and have no devices." Again...another budget concern here.

Broadband access dominated the testimony from educators in rural districts. Amy Looman, principal at Colrain Central School said 40% of families don't have access to fast connections. Most have to get work done in their cars at wifi hotspots like school parking lots.

She said requests for hard copy packets has steadily increased. "Families are expressing frustrations over frozen internet connections...or just weariness over having to sit in a parking lot with a car full of kids. It's hardly conducive to a productive learning environment."

Looman also highlighted the toll that the school closures have had on mental health access, services students used to get through school. She ended by saying "Far too many of our children are being left behind simply because they live in the hill towns."