Items

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  2021-10-05

  Child's Letter to Doug Ducey

  Twitter user @amybchan tweeted a photo of a letter that a 7-year-old student wrote to Governor Doug Ducey. She tells him that she and her sister both got COVID and asks him to make masks at school mandatory. Governor Ducey has not only refused to mandate masks at K-12 schools in Arizona but he has punished public school districts in the state that have chosen to require masks by withholding federal funding meant for COVID mitigation strategies. Parents, students, and educators have been outspoken about this policy and the federal government has weighed in over the mishandling of these COVID relief funds. My children are in a district that requires masks and have put in a grant application for those specific funds but have been told that it is "pending review" and has not released the money to the district. It is hurting districts who are actually trying to keep students and families safe and rewarding schools for not following proven mitigation strategies. At a time when children under 12 cannot get the vaccine this is especially troubling to many Arizona families.
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  2021-08-05

  Tucson Unified requires masks

  Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona State Legislature have attempted to make it illegal for school districts to require face masks. Tucson Unified School District's school board voted for a mask mandate in defiance of this. Other Arizona districts followed, risking the withholding of COVID relief funds that the governor is refusing to disburse to any district with a mask mandate. A judge later ruled that the law was invalid and schools could have a mask mandate. As someone with children who are in school but are too young to receive a vaccine yet, I hope districts continue to require face masks for the safety of the students and staff. The Arizona Daily Star published a story about TUSD's decision. TEXT OF ARTICLE: Tucson Unified School District is requiring all staffers, students and visitors to wear masks at all its school sites when the school year begins on Thursday, Aug. 5. The TUSD decision defies a new state law that bans public schools from issuing mask mandates. “While Gov. (Doug) Ducey and the state Legislature has decided to ignore the advice of our public health experts and endanger our community, we can’t sit idle and watch COVID inevitably spread throughout our schools and devastate so many TUSD families,” said board member Ravi Grivois-Shah during an emergency Governing Board meeting Wednesday morning. “This is why I will support, along with my colleagues, a requirement to have masks on TUSD campuses and authorize TUSD to enforce this.” The board passed the measure 4-0. Board President Leila Counts was not present for the vote. Masking in schools is an important mitigation measure to slow the spread of COVID-19, and especially the new delta variant, health agencies at the county, state and federal level all say. This week, with Tucson classrooms back at capacity, as nearly 140,000 children across Pima County are returning to classrooms in person, indoor masking is one of the remaining virus mitigation measures schools have left. Social distancing is problematic at most school sites because of large class sizes, and there’s a state ban on a vaccine mandate. Further, a vaccine is unavailable to anyone younger than 12 years old. Between July 20 and Aug. 2, there were 102 virus cases in Pima County schools and 11 outbreaks, according to data from the Health Department. Those figures occurred when most schools here were not yet open. At the end of July, cases in schools accounted for about 8% of the Pima County’s total reported cases, compared to 4% of total cases during last school year — when masks were required. The county also has seen an increase in pediatric admissions and ER visits in children over the last two weeks of July. Vail Unified is the only Tucson school district that has been open for two weeks. Without a mask mandate, the district has 57 current COVID-19 cases in students and 12 in staff workers. The county Health Department has already temporarily closed three Vail classrooms and told staffers and students to quarantine. “Last year, schools had a number of tools that are no longer available,” said Vail Superintendent John Carruth. “They had the ability to do hybrid learning with smaller class sizes, require face coverings and close classrooms if needed. This year, Vail has two instructional options for families — fully in person and fully remote. With all of our teachers assigned to in-person or fully remote instruction, we are leaning on structures we built last year to support students when (the Health Department) requires them to quarantine.” And while some parents, especially those with children not old enough to be vaccinated, fear for their children’s safety in a packed classroom with unmasked people, other parents are staunchly against mask mandates, saying it is unnecessary and even harmful. In an informal survey by the Arizona Daily Star, with 180 participants two weeks ago when the COVID-19 numbers were lower, less than a third of respondents said masks should be optional, in line with the new state law. The other two-thirds said masks should be required or schools should at least have the option to require them. TUSD, with about 42,000 students, follows at least two other school districts in the state, the Phoenix Union High and Phoenix Elementary school districts, in defying the governor and state Legislature by requiring masks. A Phoenix Union teacher sued the district over the mandate, but a court hearing on the case that was set for Wednesday morning was postponed until next week. Science teacher Douglas Hester filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix Union school district’s board members and superintendent on Aug. 2, saying the mandate is illegal and can’t be enforced. A hearing on the case is set for Aug. 13. While most Tucson school districts are strongly recommending that students and staff wear masks indoors, most have also said they don’t intend on mandating masks, including Vail, Marana, Amphitheater, Sahuarita, Sunnyside and Tanque Verde. TUSD Board Member Adelita Grijalva said the mask mandate is necessary for the following reasons: More children are getting sick from the new COVID variant; new evidence has shown that fully vaccinated people may still be able to transmit the virus; the delta variant appears to be more contagious than chickenpox; and many students in the district are too young to be vaccinated. “Probably over 30% of our district cannot be vaccinated because of age,” she said. “I know my youngest can’t. I know many of our children cannot or their friends cannot, and so we have to do everything we can in the district to ensure their safety. That’s our No. 1 priority.”
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  2021-07-16

  Arizona governor says schools can't force unvaccinated students to quarantine if they're exposed to Covid-19

  This CNN article discusses a recent letter sent out by Gov. Doug Ducey's education adviser, that said requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine after a COVID exposure is against state law because Arizona does not require students to be vaccinated or wear face masks. I am from NYS and this is drastically different than what Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requiring and/or recommending for students in public schools and state universities. It is bizarre how different states and governors are handling the COVID and vaccination situation.
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  2021-02-01

  Why is Arizona worst for COVID-19 nationwide? Here are 7 contributing reasons

  This article discusses why Arizona's Covid rate was the highest in the country as of February 1, 2021. Contributing factors included a lack of mask-wearing and cross-border traffic.
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  2021-04-11

  Kristina Erickson Oral History, 2021/04/11

  Conversation with Kristina Erickson an Arizona K-12 educator. Ms. Erickson weigh-ins on the March 15th executive order, in-person instruction, COVID protocols and procedures, and the future of education in her community
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  2021-04-06

  News Article: Gov. Ducey signs COVID-19 liability shield

  By Associated Press Originally Published: April 6, 2021 10:11 a.m. PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday signed legislation giving businesses, nursing homes and others a broad shield from lawsuits related to COVID-19, making Arizona the latest state to limit liability after the pandemic. Republican lawmakers approved the legislation in party-line votes in the House and Senate last week, saying businesses struggled during the pandemic and shouldn’t have to worry about frivolous lawsuits. The measure was opposed by consumer advocates, who say it will reward bad actors who flouted health guidance and endangered their workers or the public. They say there’s been no deluge of COVID-19 lawsuits. Business and medical groups have pushed hard for a liability shield since the start of the pandemic. The Arizona bill is one of dozens introduced across the country and in Congress. Ducey called for the measure in his State of the State address in January. The bill raises the bar for winning a pandemic-related lawsuits against businesses, health care providers, nursing homes, nonprofits, governments, churches and schools. Instead of proving negligence by a preponderance of the evidence, plaintiffs would have to prove “gross negligence” or “willful misconduct” by clear and convincing evidence.
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  2021-03-25

  News Article: Graham County (AZ) now with less than 150 active documented COVID-19 cases

  "By Jon Johnson, jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com SAFFORD – Graham County has had very few new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past month, lowering its numbers to just 147 active cases as of Thursday. According to the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services, Graham County has had a total of 5,355 confirmed cases for the course of the pandemic, with 5,132 listed as being recovered, 147 active, and 76 deaths in more than a year. No new cases were recorded Thursday, and, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 school dashboard, Graham County had just a 1 percent positivity rate as of the week of March 14. That is good for a tie with Apache County for the second-lowest percent positivity rate out of Arizona’s 15 counties. Only Greenlee County, which registered a zero percent positivity rate from Feb. 27 – March 14, had lower. With the lower cases statewide and vaccine rollout, Governor Doug Ducey issued an Executive Order on Thursday, rolling back several COVID-19 mitigation measures involving businesses and gatherings. This comes as other states roll back their COVID-19 mitigation measures as well. The rollout of the various COVID-19 vaccines has picked up steam in the last month, with the state opening up the vaccine to anyone 16 years old or older for the Pfizer vaccine. Anyone 18 years old or older can be administered the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation is holding a free, drive-through vaccine clinic on Saturday, March 27 at the San Carlos High School. No appointment is necessary. The clinic will be administering both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Graham County and Greenlee County are also providing vaccination sites for those 18 and older, and provide the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Greenlee County: According to the Greenlee County Health Department, the county currently has just nine active cases of COVID-19. For the course of the pandemic, Greenlee County has had 568 confirmed positive cases (by far the lowest out of any of Arizona’s 15 counties), with 549 recovered cases, nine active, and 10 deaths."
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  2021-03-24

  Vaccinations for ages 16 and older could affect Arizona high schools

  (Monday, March 22, 2021) Gov. Doug Ducey announced that Arizonian's ages 16 and up would be eligible for COVID vaccines. In particular, the counties of Pima, Maricopa, and Yuma are interesting in administering the vaccines in an effort to produce "a positive impact on schools and our community." The statement from the governor comes after the executive order mandating that districts that are non deemed as "high transmission" counties. District leaders and health experts are hopeful that as more students and staff are vaccinated it will reduce transmission levels and ultimately produce an environment safe for all.
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  2021-03-31

  News Article: Douglas rescinds requirement for face coverings in public

  This news story relays a decision by municipal leadership in Douglas, Arizona, to rescind their mask mandates following Governor Ducey's similar order on 25-March-2021.
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  2021-03-29

  Bisbee (AZ) Mayor Ken Budge Lifts Mask Mandate

  This March 29, 2021, episode of The Daily Chirp podcast from the Douglas Herald discusses Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge's recent retraction of mask mandates in that community
• 
  2020

  Doug Doucey

  The once mildly disliked man is now disputed moreso as a general failure when it came to Red for Ed and the COVID-19 cases in Arizona.
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  2020-08-11

  Mayors in rural Arizona debate the pros and cons of mandating masks in their communities

  Sarandon Raboin/Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship
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  2020-06-25

  Arizona becoming case study on how virus curve shoots up

  The Washington Post released an article today titled "How Arizona lost control of the epidemic", highlighting the dramatic increase in cases in the state. Governing decisions and lacking health mandates are being pointed to as why the state has become a global hotspot. Cases were quite low early on, as the state participated in the national lockdown. However, as the state as fully reopened cases have skyrocketed. Governor Ducey came out today in a press conference with a notably different attitude than his previous tone of dismissing the spike in cases, declaring the spike in cases unacceptable but declined to provide info on a second lockdown. Arizona's role in the story of this pandemic is becoming clear, and is unfortunately a negative one. I felt as though this article and even just its title describes the current situation in the state. In terms of how the pandemic will be studied, Arizona is currently providing the example of what not to do, as other states and countries provide a more positive example. As an Arizona local this is disturbing to me but not very surprising.
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  2020-05-21

  Covid 19 Pandemic

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  2020-04-02

  South Phoenix church still hosting in-person services despite widespread call to stay home

  The article describes one church community's response to COVID-19 and Gov. Ducey's proclamation to practice social distancing except in "essential activities." A spokesperson from the church community stated that they are not practicing social distancing and would continue to meet.
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  2020-03-15

  Arizona schools closed: Gov. Doug Ducey announces statewide closure of schools over coronavirus

  Governor Ducey says he and Superintendent Hoffman will work with education leaders and public health officials to reassess the need for school closures and provide additional guidance through March 27.