“Every day is an eternity for a young person,” he said. Inslee, a Democrat, said. “We just could not wait any longer.”
In the weeks since most governors took office, nationwide affairs have started to increase again, which could complicate the effort to get children back to school. Many school staff have already offered vaccinations, which have reduced the resistance of teachers’ unions to reopening, and provided the staff’s vaccination rates are high, the spread of the virus in schools will be limited.
Nevertheless, in areas where cases are increasing sharply, such as Michigan, some schools have had to temporarily return to distance education because so many students were in quarantine.
But so far, the moves of these governors have yielded at least significant results.
In Ohio, nearly half of all students at the beginning of 2021 were in districts that were completely remote. By March 1, it was down 4 percent, and it has shrunk further in the weeks since.
In Washington, before Mr. Sled issued its proclamation, the state’s largest district, Seattle Public Schools, was caught up in a disagreement with its teachers union over a reopening plan. Days after mr. Inslee announced that districts should bring back students at least part-time, the two parties reached an agreement that all preschool and elementary school students and some older students with disabilities should return by April 5th.
And in Massachusetts, the move by Mr. Baker fueled a shift in the sea, with dozens of districts bringing students to school for the first time since the pandemic began, and hundreds switching from part-time to full-time schedules.
“It worked extremely well,” he said. DeWine, a Republican, spoke about his decision to offer vaccines in Ohio districts that promised to reopen. “We have these kids back in school.”