South Dakota Governor Vows Schools Will Be Open in the Fall

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:

https://twitter.com/govkristinoem/status/1288459825324720128

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.”