LOUISIANA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES District Office nd 100 Port Boulevard, 2 Floor Chairman, House Committee on Education Chalmette, Louisiana 70043 Chairman, House Committee on Disaster Recovery (504) 277-4729 ⚫ Fax (504) 278-6597 House Leadership Committee
[email protected] House Executive Committee State Capitol Office Governor’s Coastal Advisory Commission 900 N. Third Street, Room 802 Louisiana State Law Institute Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Louisiana International (225) 342-2408 ⚫ Fax (225) 342-2392 Gulf Transfer Terminal Board Raymond E. “Ray” Garofalo, Jr. State Representative – District 103 Chairman, House Committee on Education July 8, 2020 Ms. Sandy Holloway, President Dr. Cade Brumley, Superintendent State Board of Elementary and Secondary Louisiana Department of Education Education 1201 North Third Street 1201 North Third Street Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Mr. Eddie Bonine, Executive Director Louisiana High School Athletic Association 12720 Old Hammond Highway Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 I’m writing today to express my support for returning our students and athletes to the classroom and the sports fields as soon as possible for the upcoming school year in as safe a manner as practicable given the circumstances. The response I’ve received from parents, educators, the public, and my colleagues, has been overwhelmingly in support of our students need to return to a normal scholastic schedule for the upcoming year, including extracurricular sports. One of the most compelling justifications for a return to a normal scholastic schedule came directly from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), one of the most respected pediatric health organizations in the world: “The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” “The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.