Coronavirus Briefing: A Push to Reopen Schools

How can schools reopen safely?

In an ideal world, schools would reopen in the fall.

There’s near universal support for the idea, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents, educators and politicians. But that support comes with an important condition: It must be done safely.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for reopening schools, which include recommendations like screening students and employees when they arrive and preparing to protect those at higher risk. President Trump assailed those guidelines today as “very tough and expensive,” and hours later Vice President Mike Pence announced that the C.D.C. would issue new recommendations next week.

While Americans wait for the revised guidance, New York City, home to the nation’s largest school system, may offer a model for moving forward.

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan, released today, public schools will not fully reopen in the fall. Instead, schools will open only one to three days a week and will use a mix of online and in-person learning. The goal is to limit the number of people in a classroom to about a dozen.