Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she was “proud” of the way Democrats are getting school kids back into the classroom as they dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that policies are helping society. He defended the closure of the school while acknowledging the impact. child.

Discussing the issue on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Dana Bash asked Murray if it was “wrong” to keep students at home for long periods of time. The question comes in light of a Department of Education report on the plummeting US test scores released Thursday, which shows a dramatic loss of US students across the board.

“Dana, this is a decision by local school officials and our scientific experts to protect our children, protect our staff, and protect our communities in an attempt to avoid a pandemic that has killed millions of Americans. When the Democrats took control a year and a half ago, they voted for the American Rescue Plan to help children get back to school safely. Virtually all children are back in school and that’s what I’ve been focusing on, making sure schools are providing resources so they can reopen safely and that’s what we’re doing today. It’s what I have.”

Murray later said he recognized that “there is an issue with children not being able to go to school” and that “we are very focused on making sure we help our children get back to where they need to be.”

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Bash emphasized the issue in an attempt to move away from discussing the pandemic situation at the time.

“Looking back, don’t you have second thoughts?” Bash asked. “Given the numbers you’re seeing, the declines we talked about, are you still happy with how school districts have handled the pandemic, even in your home state?”

Senator Pattie Murray, D-Wash. She speaks during her interview with the Associated Press at her office in Washington’s Capitol Hill.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnick)

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These figures also include a 5-point drop in reading and a 7-point drop in math scores for 9-year-olds in 2022 compared to 2020. Mathematics scores go down. ”

Still, Murray’s answer didn’t change.

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“I think we were in an unprecedented time at that point. People were trying to figure out what was the best thing to do to make sure their children, their families, and their children were safe.” I was really struggling with this.