Yesterday I checked the independent research site Burbio.com’s school reopening tracker to see how Washington compares to other states in opening public schools.  Private schools and most charter schools have been open since last fall.

Burbio has an “In Person Index for K-12 Public Schools.” This Index shows only 19.2 percent of Washington’s students are receiving in-person instruction. This puts Washington state in 47th place, nearly last, out of 50 states in opening classrooms to children. 

See for yourself:

State                    Percent of Students In Person

The state legislature has been in session for six weeks and taken no action. The state teachers union enjoys considerable power over the state senators and representatives since many were elected with generous donations from the union. The data shows states with the strongest teachers unions, like Washington, are blocking students from returning to school.

Senator Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island), Chair of the Senate Education Committee and a close union ally, has already killed SB 5037, a bill that would have opened public schools using health safety metrics.

Yesterday Senators Lynda Wilson (R-Vancouver) and John Braun (R-Centralia) introduced SB 5464, which would require school districts to provide in-person instruction to students using safety guidelines.

My sources tell me Senator Wellman is likely to block SB 5464 from becoming law, just as she did with SB 5037.  Meanwhile, public school children and parents sit at home waiting for state lawmakers and the union to let their local school re-open.