OLYMPIA… Senate Republican Leader John Braun offered this response to a statement from the Washington Education Association, issued after Gov. Jay Inslee declared schools must offer a minimum level of in-person instruction starting in mid-April.

“The lack of access to in-classroom education is the equity issue of our time. The response by the state’s largest teachers’ union seems to be trying to get to ‘no.’ We need to get to ‘yes.’

“That’s a yes for the best educational outcome for our kids. A yes to the best mental-health situation for our kids. A yes to the best future for our kids. Science tells us we can do it safely. Let’s get kids back in the classroom.”

Here is the statement from the WEA: