The president also threatened to slash federal funding to schools that do not physically reopen.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly disavowed his own administration’s guidance for reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the federal recommendations were too burdensome as he ramped up his bid to have students return to classrooms in the fall.
“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!”
The president’s discordant messaging came minutes after he threatened in a tweet earlier Wednesday morning to slash federal funding to schools that do not physically reopen. “The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families,” he wrote.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a similar warning Tuesday night, telling Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that she was “very seriously” considering withholding taxpayer dollars from schools that refuse to open their doors this fall. “Kids have got to continue learning,” she said.
The White House this week has noticeably escalated its monthslong drive to reopen schools, a pressure campaign closely linked to Trump’s broader effort to jump-start the national economy. Having students head back to class could help relieve parents grappling with the difficulties of at-home learning and increased childcare responsibilities, potentially allowing them to reenter the workforce.
But as the United States experiences a resurgence of coronavirus infections, with spikes in communities across the South and West, state and local leaders remain hesitant to reopen schools or take any actions that could exacerbate already soaring Covid-19 caseloads.
The financial strain will also be significant: An average school district could incur more than $1.7 million in additional expenses to reopen for the 2020–2021 school year, according to data from the American Association of School Administrators.
Nevertheless, Trump tweeted Monday that “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” He went on to claim, without evidence, that former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats “don’t want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons, not for health reasons,” adding that they “think it will help them in November.”
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This morning Trump publicly disavowed his own administration's guidance for reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the recommendations were too burdensome https://t.co/U8H1IVH58h
— POLITICO (@politico) July 8, 2020
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