On Monday, July 20th, a group of national parent leader organizations released a letter to education leaders and policymakers laying out their clear guidelines for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. In order to safely and equitably resume schooling in the fall amidst the current global pandemic, health and safety must be a priority – for all students.

Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) supports this collective call from National Parent Leadership Institute, United Parent Leaders Action Network, Parent Institute for Quality Education, Parents for Public Schools, One America, Community Organizing and Family Issues, Alliance for Quality Education, Power PAC, Be Strong Families, and Coalition for Educational Justice  – representing over a million parent voices and families across the country – to provide quality education options to students in every community, whether learning takes place in-person, virtually, or in another hybrid or alternate form. IEL’s mission to Rise Up For Equity in 100 communities across the United States cannot come to fruition without  co-designed, fully comprehensive plans for school re-openings.

Together, schools, teachers, parents, and the broader community can come together to ensure that this fall, we see education equity for all. Parents who have not heard anything from their children’s schools can use this letter as a resource to reach out to administrators and lead the discussion about a way forward.