To the editor: Should it really be so difficult to keep kids safe in this country? To appease their supporters, conservative governors in red states threaten school districts with funding cuts if schools want to follow guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chris McClure, Midwest Practice Leader, Litigation & Forensics, Crowe Incredibly, parents are also seeking ways to evade mask mandates. If conservative political leaders won't protect students and parents won't protect their own children, what chance do they have to learn in a safe environment? Students have become political pawns. Harming them for political gain should be a crime. We can roll our eyes and say "that's politics," but this game is deadly.