Kansas: A Model State Government in the Face of COVID-19
COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has commanded the media cycle over the vast majority of 2020. Yet, the American government has failed to take the necessary precautions; Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the coronavirus will disappear on its own. That could not be farther from the truth.
The rhetoric Donald Trump uses spills over into dismissive policy. States that need the most medical supplies, such as ventilators, are not receiving nearly enough to provide for the number of patients that they have. New York is estimated to need 30,000 ventilators in the next few weeks, but only has 10,000–11,000 on hand. Moreover, there are now over 113,000 cases (EDIT: at date of publication, there are now 245,175 cases) within the United States. The consequence of this number is that the cases of coronavirus within the US double almost every 2 days, meaning millions of Americans could be infected within the next few months.
Through this pandemic, it is clear that since the federal government has failed to act, state governments now play a crucial role in stopping the spread of the virus and protecting millions of people. From Governor Cuomo of New York to Governor Newsom of California, state governments have been fulfilling their duties. However, an unexpected champion of pandemic response comes out of Kansas.
A state that would normally convert to a dismissive Trumpian rhetoric on COVID-19 has proved to be one of the fastest-acting states due to the preventative measures of Governor Laura Kelly (D). Other states should look at the Kansas model for ways to move forward in addressing the crises.
A study done by the Imperial College in London noted that closing schools and universities are actually more effective at preventing the spreading of COVID-19 than household quarantine. While a combination of both methods is necessary, the first step most definitely is closing schools and universities. Governor Laura Kelly did just that. On March 18, Kansas became the first state in the nation to close all K-12 school buildings. Many GOP lawmakers in Kansas thought that Kelly’s move was too drastic. At the time, Kansas had 18 cases of COVID-19. Yet, now, Kansas has 269 cases. These numbers show the emerging crises on a state and nationwide scale.
Now, Kansas is not alone in drastic school and university closings. States, such as North Carolina and Utah, have suspended K-12 schools until May. While concerns about how Kansas responded were once valid, we can now understand how these preventative measures predicted the escalation of the pandemic and bought the state of Kansas time. Time, that is, to come up with an alternative plan for K-12 learning.
Immediately following the suspension of an in-person school year, Governor Kelly announced the creation of a task force consisting of 45 Kansas educators to come up with distinct learning plans for the state. These guidelines, then, allowed schools to come up with their own educational plans to cater to their district, which will be submitted for review (to the task force) by April 15.
The most important parts of this learning plan come from both the state and district levels. Initially, the Kansas Board of Education has taken remarkable steps to include educators in this process. Making guidelines around how educators perceive the school year should continue only provides the most flexible, successful learning for these 45 educators, all Kansas educators, and Kansas children This shows that the government of Kansas believes in the value of education beyond requirements.
Subsequently, school districts are given the ability to adapt guidelines to fit the needs of their schools. For those smaller school districts, classes can be held as long as they consist of less than 10 people, following CDC guidelines. This can also benefit children who have trouble paying attention at home or do not have the resources to continue the school year online.
Another alternative could be mailing assignments to students, with the benefits of providing for students who do not have internet access. The main option, however, remains online assignments and classrooms, which can be set up directly by the school districts. Through these changes, most Kansas schools expect to continue school remotely on March 30th,following a delay of only two weeks. Swift action by the Kansas government under the leadership of Governor Kelly has allowed this large portion of the Kansas demographic to continue life, or school, as it was before COVID-19.
Beyond schools, Governor Kelly has worked to help the businesses across Kansas that need the loans the most. This month, Kansas removed restrictions on a fund called Incentives Without Walls to ensure that small businesses across Kansas are able to obtain capital loans for operating expenses such as payroll and commercial loan payments. Specifically, on March 20th, Governor Kelly established the Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency (HIRE) Fund that will be distributed to businesses across the state. These loans are specifically targeted at businesses that have under 100 employees. This allows for small businesses to stay afloat during the uncertainty that revolves around the coronavirus. If these steps were not taken, many local businesses could not survive. In a survey, more than 50% of small business owners in the US said they could not operate for 3 months under these conditions. Hopefully, we will see Kansas business owners stay open through the HIRE program set up by Governor Kelly.
Moreover, small businesses, with these loans, could have the opportunity to give workers paid sick leave, which may be necessary for stopping the spread of the virus. A report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates that employees that had to work during the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic of 2009 could have been responsible for 7 million other workers getting infected. The decisions on these loans, once a company submits a request, will be made within 3 days and will be distributed within 2 days of approval. This 5 day wait period, at most, is a remarkable way to ensure that small businesses across Kansas are able to get the support that they need as soon as they need it.
Everyone across America is doing their part to stop the spread of the coronavirus. While we have seen a federal level of incompetency in this crisis, state governments have acted to ensure that their citizens are able to survive their changed day-to-day life. The Democratic Governor from Kansas, Laura Kelly, has shown what it means to truly care about her constituents. On every level, she has worked to create the possibility for schools and businesses to adapt and survive. Other states can follow the lead of Kansas by providing loans in a fast and efficient manner to small business owners or create alternatives to the regular school year. All of these steps have been made to stop the spread of coronavirus while we are searching for a cure.
A new status quo has proven effective in Kansas. Let’s hope it will prove successful across other states, too.
