Dems, Left-Wing Teacher's Unions, Escape Responsibility After Study Shows How Much Damage COVID Lockdowns Did to Students

Dems, Left-Wing Teacher's Unions, Escape Responsibility After Study Shows How Much Damage COVID Lockdowns Did to Students


Democrats and the teacher’s unions — whose members overwhelmingly support the party — have so far escaped much of the blame and responsibility for the massive educational and emotional health damage they caused to millions of U.S. students thanks to their insistence on prolonged lockdowns and ‘remote learning’ during the COVID pandemic.

According to new studies, the closures “have had a devastating impact on children’s mental health, development and future earnings potential,” Fox News reported, adding: “According to data released last month by the National Center for Education Statistics, 70% of U.S. public schools have reported an increase in students seeking mental health services since the start of the pandemic.”

One study published by the right-leaning Just Facts think tank found that mental stressors brought on by lengthy school closures will impact seven times more years of life than the lockdowns allegedly saved, the network added, citing the group’s findings.

The outlet continued:

A study by the American Enterprise Institute also found that nearly 1.3 million students have left public schools since the pandemic began, and schools that stayed remote longer saw even more students leave. The World Bank reported last month that the school closures will cost this generation of students $21 trillion in earnings over their lifetimes, which is far more than the $17 trillion estimated in 2021.

A working paper first released in October 2020, which examined over 10,000 school districts across the country and their reopening plans, found that partisan politics and teachers union strength in a particular area had far more influence on schools reopening than science or local health guidance. 

“Altogether, we find little evidence that the reopening plans adopted by the nation’s 13,000+ school boards were linked to the public health conditions on the ground in their local community,” the study noted.

Without question, the main drivers behind the school closures were teacher’s unions, evidence shows. And according to Open Secrets, a project that tracks donations to politicians and political organizations, they donate almost exclusively to Democrats.

“The American Federation of Teachers has donated 100% – a total of $2,674,719 – to Democratic candidates in the 2022 election cycle, and the National Education Association (NEA) has donated 98.4% – a total of $1,941,045 – to Democratic candidates this cycle,” Fox News reported, referencing Open Secrets data.

“School closures were always more about politics and power than safety and the needs of children,” Corey A. DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and the national director of research of the American Federation for Children, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Meanwhile private schools, daycares, grocery stores, and other businesses were able to figure it out from the get-go.

“These union-induced school closures hurt children academically, mentally, and physically,” the advocate continued. “Teachers unions fought against reopening schools every step of the way. They even lobbied the CDC to keep schools closed longer. Government officials weren’t following the science, they were following the Political Science.”

Despite the fact that Democrats and Dem-leading union officials pushed for the harmful lockdowns, almost none of them have been held responsible. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — one of the most powerful — was just handily reelected to an eighth term in July at the union’s annual convention, which was held in Boston.

Naturally, during her speech, Weingarten blasted Republicans and accused them of being “the anti-public schools crowd, the anti-union crowd, the privatizers, the haters,” who want to dismantle public education, Education Week reported.

“When people with power try to lock in systems that privilege the few, decimate the middle class and make every day a struggle for working people, we fight for a better life for all and for the next generation to do even better,” Weingarten said at the convention, which also featured first lady Jill Biden, a National Education Association (NEA) union member, who also gave a speech.

Notoriously, both the NEA and the AFT were caught communicating with the Biden regime’s CDC on reopening guidelines which, of course, called for slow-walking the process.


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