As the coronavirus continues to spread around the country, state and local leaders are debating how and whether to reopen schools in the fall.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) says that schools in her state will be open in the fall. In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” she said that each school district would be able to make decisions about how to reopen safely.
“Every school district’s going to make a different decision that works for their facilities, for their children. They’re going to be back in school,” Noem said on Monday.
Noem said it is “very difficult” to ensure that children wear masks for the whole day. Additionally, she raised concerns that children drop their masks on the floor or touch them, which she said “increase rates of infection” of the coronavirus.
She said, “As far as masks, I’m not mandating masks at the state level. It certainly would be challenging for a child to keep a mask on for seven, eight hours a day.”
Instead of implementing a mask mandate for students, Noem said, “I think that every school district is approaching it differently and telling parents, ‘If your children want to wear masks they can, but we’re not going to make them.'”
Watch the video below:
Our kids are going to be back in school in South Dakota. Every school district will make a decision that works for their facilities and kids as to what that looks like.
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) July 29, 2020
I'm not going to mandate masks. Kids tend to play with their masks and touch them frequently. pic.twitter.com/sP7HYhT8lB
When asked about potential pushback from teacher unions, Noem said she had received feedback from the unions but not much pushback.
Additionally, she said that many parents she has heard from have voiced support for reopening schools. “They want their children in school. They recognize they’re falling behind.”
“And it didn’t matter on the income levels, whether they were people that didn’t have many resources or people who had a lot, they all recognized that our children were falling behind and they needed them to be with their teachers who have the expertise to help them reach the highest level of their potential,” she added.
The issue of reopening schools in the fall has become a new flashpoint in the pandemic. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump ramped up his push to reopen schools in the fall, as IJR reported.
During an event at the White House on July 7 about safely reopening schools, Trump said, “We hope that most schools are going to be open. We don’t want people to make political statements.”
He also suggested that some leaders want schools to remain closed because “they think it’s going to be good for them politically.”
“So, we’re going to be putting a lot of pressure on open your schools in the fall,” Trump said.
However, his push to reopen schools has been met with stiff resistance. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Trump to implement the Defense Production Act to ensure that schools have the resources needed to reopen in the fall.
“Let’s show that we put children first and their education by putting the resources there. Because without the resources, we shouldn’t even be thinking about sending them back to school,” Pelosi said.
She also charged that by pushing for schools to reopen, Trump administration officials were “messing with the health of our children” and ignoring scientific advice.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has expressed support for reopening schools. However, it also stressed, “We must pursue reopening in a way that is safe for all students, teachers, and staff.”
Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, Noem has made headlines for not implementing a lockdown order. And before Trump held an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore, Noem said that officials would not be enforcing social distancing guidelines at the event.
