Buckeye Reporter

Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci is condemning Gov. Mike DeWine for closing schools during the pandemic as new data shows that the lockdowns have affected young students' reading skills.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, recently released state data has confirmed that Ohio's COVID lockdowns had a "dramatic impact" on young students' reading skills. Statewide, Ohio third-graders had a reading proficiency level of 67% in the 2018-2019 school year. In the 2020-2021 school year, that proficiency level dropped to 51.9%. 

"This latest state data illustrates just how far behind Ohio's children have been set back by Mike DeWine's school shutdowns," Renacci said in a statement. "Our children should never have been forced out of the classroom and should never have been forced to wear masks for hours on end when they returned. DeWine could have stood up to the Left's push for lockdowns and mandates. Instead, he joined them. As governor, we will never cave to the mandate mob and we will fight to keep our schools open!" 

The Ohio Department of Education website states that, based on the state's 2021 Spring assessments, across most grade levels, students' English language arts proficiency rates dropped by 8%, and math proficiency levels dropped by 15%. The assessments demonstrated that third-grade Ohioans learned "roughly 20% less" than previous third-grade classes. Between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, enrollment in public preK-12 schools decreased by around 3%, while Ohio's homeschool population grew by 55%. Almost a quarter of Ohio’s K-12 students were chronically absent during the 2020-2021 school year.

DeWine was the first governor in the nation to force schools to shut down in response to COVID, the Spectator reported. Despite evidence that closing schools would not slow the spread of the virus and warnings that keeping students out of school would do them more harm than good, DeWine ordered all schools across Ohio to close their doors on March 12, 2020.

DeWine will face off against Jim Renacci in the May 3, 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary, according to Ballotpedia. The winner will go on to appear on ballots for the general election on November 8, 2022.