US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would pressure state governors to open schools in the fall, despite a steady increase in coronavirus cases across the country.
“I DON’T CONSIDER OUR COUNTRY COMING BACK IF THE SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED”
Speaking at a White House event to discuss reopening of schools, Trump said some people wanted to keep schools closed for political reasons. “No way, so we’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools,” Trump said.
Schools are largely under the jurisdiction of state and local governments. Educators have struggled with decisions over opening schools considering the risk of infection to both students and faculty.
Colleges and universities have announced a number of plans for the fall semester, including changing the calendars and holding some courses online. Harvard University announced earlier on Monday that all of its courses would be held online for the upcoming academic year.