Education

Teachers Could Strike If Forced To Go Back To The Classroom

While teachers call for schools to implement safety measures, new Trump administration guidance may not require them to quarantine if exposed.

Teachers Could Strike If Forced To Go Back To The Classroom
Luke Gronneberg / The Daily News / AP
SMS

Detroit school teachers could be walking off the job if they're forced to return to the classroom amid health concerns. 

The Detroit Federation of Teachers voted to authorize a strike Wednesday. The vote gives the union the ability to call a "safety strike if the union and the school district do not reach an agreement." It wants schools to implement science-based safety protocols before they reopen. 

In New York, public school teachers can't legally strike. But they are threatening to hold so-called "sick outs" if they think the buildings aren't safe enough. 

And to top it all off, new guidance from the Trump administration may not require teachers to quarantine if they're exposed to COVID-19. The guidance says educators are "critical infrastructure workers," which would exempt them from quarantining after exposure to the virus and let them go back to the classroom. 

Critics say this would raise the risk of asymptomatic carriers spreading coronavirus.