CAP Leaders: Follow the Science and Open the Schools

Monday, the conservative leaders of the Conservative Action Project issued the following

“Memo to the Movement” pointing out that the best available scientific evidence is that reopening public schools is an urgent priority to protect the health, welfare and academic prospects of students.

February 1, 2021

Washington, DC

Conservatives urge school districts across America to re-open in accordance with scientific evidence. Recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control show little evidence that schools contribute meaningfully to the spread of COVID-19.

Specifically, a report published in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association and authored by three CDC scientists, found that “the type of rapid spread that was frequently observed in congregate living facilities or high-density worksites has not been reported in education settings in schools.”

Moreover, evidence continues to grow regarding the social and emotional toll on students being forced to learn virtually. Data also demonstrates the academic toll taken on students, especially on those in low-income communities and with special needs.

Many public and private schools around the country have prioritized the needs of students and been open for in-person instruction. We commend those school districts and administrators that have sought to minimize the toll of the pandemic on healthy children in their most formative years.

The frequent refrain during this pandemic has been to “follow the science.” The science and data now clearly indicate two things: first, it is safe to open schools; and second, that failure to do so is irreparably harming students, particularly low-income students.

We urge every state and local government to prioritize and incentivize school re-opening without delay.

The Honorable Edwin Meese III

Attorney General

President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)

Alfred S. Regnery

Chairman, Conservative Action Project

President, Republic Book Publishers

Penny Y. Nance

President & CEO

Concerned Women for America

The Honorable David McIntosh

President

Club for Growth

Mary Vought

Executive Director

Senate Conservatives Fund

Myron Ebell

Director, Center for Energy and Environment

Competitive Enterprise Institute

The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell

President

The Leadership Institute

William L. Walton

President

Council for National Policy

L. Brent Bozell, III

Founder and President

Media Research Center

Craig Shirley

Reagan Biographer

Presidential Historian

Sherri R. Martin

Executive Vice President

The Martin Organization, Inc.

Lourdes Cosio

Campaign for the American Future

Shawn A. Mitchell

Former National Chaplain

National Federation of Republican Assemblies

Lew Uhler

Founder and President

National Tax Limitation Committee

Sal Russo

Co-Founder and Chief Strategist

Tea Party Express

Kay R. Daly

President

Coalition for a Fair Judiciary

G. Eric Georgatos

Executive Producer

America Can We Talk? americacanwetalk.org

The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr

Managing Editor

ConservativeHQ.com

Gerard Kassar

State Chairman

NYS Conservative Party

Kielle C. Horton

President

The Lindsey Foundation

Ron Pearson

Executive Director

Conservative Victory Fund

Michelle Easton

President

Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women

Annette Thompson Meeks

CEO

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Rob Chambers

Vice President

AFA Action

Kevin Freeman

Founder

NSIC Institute

Twila Brase, RN, PHN

President and Co-founder

Citizens' Council for Health Freedom

Randy M. Long

Founder

Long Business Advisors, LLC

Sean Noble

President

American Encore

Amapola Hansberger

President

Legal Immigrants for America

Richard Norman

Founder and President

The Richard Norman Company

David N. Bossie

President

Citizens United

The Honorable Peter J. Thomas

Chairman

The Conservative Caucus

Richard D. Hayes

Partner

Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP

James L. Martin

Founder/Chairman

60 Plus Association

The Honorable Mike Hill

Former Member

Florida State House

Rick Scarborough

President

Recover America Now

Dr. Richard Rounsavelle

Trustee

MRC

The Honorable Diana Denman

Presidential Appointee/ President Ronald Reagan

Reagan Legacy Forum

Jeff Hunt

Director

Centennial Institute

The Honorable Russ Vought

Director

Office of Management and Budget (2020-2021)

Scott T. Parkinson

VP for Government Affairs

Club for Growth

Jenny Beth Martin

Chairman

Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund

Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.

Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.

President and CEO, First Liberty Institute

The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.

Chief Domestic Advisor

President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)

Christopher Malagisi

Executive Director of Outreach

Hillsdale College

The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop

White House Advisor

President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)

Rod D. Martin

Founder and CEO

The Martin Organization, Inc.

Christina Murphy Lusk

President

The Martin Foundation

Guillermo J. Aragon

Chief Financial Officer

Martin Imaging, Inc.

Haley E. Martin

Past President

The Martin Foundation

Judson Phillips

Founder

Tea Party Nation

Mike Davis

Founder and President

Article III Project (A3P)

Jessica Jensen

Vice President & Chief of Staff

Young America's Foundation

Karen England

Executive Director

Capitol Resource Institute

Gary Marx

President

Madison Strategies

Joseph A. Morris

Partner, Morris & De La Rosa

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney General

Joan Holt Lindsey

President

Lindsey Communications

Phil Kerpen

President

American Commitment

Anne Schlafly Cori

Chairman

Eagle Forum

Jack Park

Conservative Activist and Donor

Law Offices of Jack Park

Andresen Blom

President

Hawaiian Values

Donna Rice Hughes

CEO/President

Enough Is Enough

Khadine Ritter

President

Eagle Forum of Ohio

Martha Boneta

President

Vote America First

Darrel W. Johnson

President and CEO

Attic Corp

Willes K. Lee

President

National Federation of Republican Assemblies

Mario Navarro da Costa

Director, Washington Bureau

Tradition, Family, Property

Dr. Allen Unruh

CEO

National Abstinence Clearinghouse

Amb. Henry F. Cooper

President Reagan's Chief Defense and Space Negotiator

Former SDI Director

Eaton Hopkins

President

Liberty Surgical, Inc.

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis

President

60 Plus Association

Seton Motley

President

Less Government

E.C.Sykes

General Partner

Aslan Ventures

William W. Pascoe, III

Board Member

Tea Party Patriots Action

Terrence Scanlon

Chairman

U.S. CPSC 1985-1989

Mathew Staver

Founder and Chairman

Liberty Counsel

• COVID lockdowns

• business closures

• school closures

• teachers unions

• Joe Biden

• science

• COVID vaccinations

• CDC

• COVID spread

• virtual learning

• open the schools