About 100 parents, children and others who want students back in school full time showed up in Dover Oct. 1 on the steps of the Delaware Department of Education demanding change.

“Delaware students deserve to be in school,” said Tristan Germann, organizer of the event along with Stand Up Delaware, a grassroots organization started in April focused on reopening Delaware's closed economy.

Lisa McCulley, founder of Stand Up Delaware, said state policy that allows the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs to use school buildings as daycares while the buildings remain empty of full-time students is wrong.

“Schools are essential,” she said. “What we are getting is garbage … it has to stop now.”

Republican candidate for governor Julianne Murray said children should be back in school, and there should be less focus on fear and hysteria surrounding COVID-19. She said if she is elected governor, the state of emergency that has restricted the economy and school attendance will end.

“It's not wrong to say we want our kids in school,” she said. “It's possible for our children to stay safe.”