The White House on Tuesday admitted that their plan to “reopen” the nation’s schools in President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office would only see about half the children back in classrooms for “at least one day a week.”
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked to define the specifics of Biden’s plan to reopen schools, she replied “in-person teaching” as “teaching at least one day a week” in most schools.
“His goal that he set is to have the majority of schools—so more than 50 percent—open by day 100 of his presidency, and that means some teaching in classrooms,” Psaki said. “Teaching at least one day a week in the majority of schools by day 100.”
Biden made a promise to safely reopen a majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days in office but met with resistance from experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and teachers’ unions.
Psaki confirmed they’re waiting for official CDC guidance to be “put out publicly and concluded” .
The White House walked back comments from CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky last week, suggesting that schools might be able to reopen before all teachers have received a vaccine to prevent Covid-19. Psaki claimed Walensky had spoken “in her personal capacity” and insisted the White House wait for further guidance.
Teachers’ unions across the United States have thwarted efforts at every turn to go back to the classroom for in-person instruction, claiming without evidence that it is unsafe to do so until all school staff members receive the vaccine.
An American Academy of Pediatrics study from January found that transmission of the virus in schools is “extremely rare.”