OLYMPIA…Republican legislative leaders released the following remarks in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s order that the recently revised three-foot social-distancing guideline from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) would be made available immediately to every school across the state.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, asked Gov. Inslee last week to recognize the CDC’s new recommendations and implement them here in Washington.

“We asked the governor to endorse three-foot spacing guidance for classrooms a week ago and appreciate that he has embraced another one of our recommendations. For some time, the data has shown that kids can return to school safely with this new guideline. Thousands of schools around the country have demonstrated its success. It is more practical for the classroom than the previous six-foot rule. Making this new guideline immediately available to all schools in Washington is the right thing to do and it will make a big difference in the lives of the kids who can now return to in-person instruction among their friends. Every day that goes by, kids and parents pay a higher price for not being in school. We urge the WEA to support immediate efforts to get teachers and kids back in the classroom where they belong.”