There a lot of talk going on right now about back to school. Teachers, parents, and students are all worried about corona virus. Are we doing virtual, in person, a little of both? There is still so much up in the air right now as Florida still battles with rising infection rates.
One thing on many peoples mind is what happens if they get sick? What happens if they don’t make it? These are questions that many younger professionals don’t think about until much later in life but the realities of a global pandemic has made the subject of Estate Planning the topic of discussion among the much younger.
Here are few articles to help you stay informed on the topic:
From CNN: “Teachers are so worried about returning to school that they’re preparing wills”
Back-to-school is looking a little different for many teachers nationwide this year, as they grapple with returning to their classrooms amid a pandemic.
Added to their list of concerns: Death.
“How horrible is it that one of the things on the list to do is to have a plan for students and teachers dying?” Denise Bradford, a teacher in Orange County, California’s Saddleback Valley Unified School District, told CNN.
From The New York Times: “What Will Schools Do When a Teacher Gets Covid-19?”
The logistics of reopening schools are daunting. Plans are full of details about which days kids will be eligible for, and pages and pages on preventing students and staffs from getting sick. What kind of limits will be placed on class sizes? What kind of cleaning? Will there be symptom checks or temperature screens? Masks for everyone or just adults?
These plans are important and necessary. But there is an issue that we aren’t talking enough about: What happens when there is a Covid-19 case in a school?
From Chalk Beat: “Teacher anxiety is on the rise. Will their unions emerge as a force in the school reopening debate?”
As virus counts rise and teacher anxiety spikes, one big question is whether teachers unions will emerge as a powerful force in the school reopening debate — and whether a new wave of teacher activism could be on the horizon.
So far, the evidence is mixed. There have been a handful of protests over educator safety in recent weeks, from Loudoun County, Virginia to Austin, Texas. In Chicago, the union is getting louder and planning a “car caravan” protest over teacher safety this week. It was announced shortly after the union called for a return to remote schooling, but the school district said it planned to put most students in schools two days a week.
But many other teachers unions are keeping a lower profile as they hash out the details of school reopening plans, or as rising caseloads make reopening a public health impossibility.
From The Washington Post: “This teacher and mother of 3 says she may quit if forced back to school”
Mace is a teacher mentor in Tucson and the mother of three children ages 10 and under. (Teacher mentors are educators who not only teach children but also serve as mentor for beginning teachers.) In this post she explains why she may quit or take leave if she is required to return to school. She speaks for a lot of teachers, especially those who also have young children at home and face complicated decisions about work and child care during the pandemic.
If you are a teacher or school employee in need of your Living Will and Healthcare Surrogate give us a call at 386-271-4740. Now through the end of September we are offering all K-12 public and private school employees in Volusia, Lake, and Seminole County this legal service at no charge. We are also offering discounted rates to teachers and staff of these schools on additional Estate Planning services.