OPINION:
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I believe we must focus on the hidden terrible cost our society is paying due to COVID-19 policies. Nationwide, there are 1.3 million public school students “missing” or unaccounted for due to public policies in response to the pandemic. I did not realize how serious this issue was until I watched “60 Minutes” on Nov. 22 and did further research myself. Much of the program focused on Florida, where 240,000 students are missing. According to CBS, Florida is proactive in fielding dozens of truancy enforcement officers, who are on the streets trying to round up these kids. Apparently it is very much an uphill effort. There were many cases cited in which there is no valid reason for student to not be attending (other than failure by parents to act responsibly).
The most sobering aspect of this issue is the fact that those kids not in school at the moment are paying a huge price. Just one year of missed education is gone forever and cannot be made up.
Our legislature and public school officials must be proactive and enforce truancy laws — regardless of COVID-19 policies.
JAMES W. ANDERSON
Talladega, Ala.
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