House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is criticizing Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for her latest claim indicating children may need to face the challenges of going back to school amid the coronavirus pandemic.
During her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi acknowledged it is necessary to send students back to school, but not the way DeVos is suggesting.
“Secretary of education indicated that children should go to school, they have to take risks. Everybody takes risks, takes risks to ride a bicycle, to be an astronaut, you have to take risks,” Pelosi said.
She added, “No, we don’t want our children to take risks to go to school. We’re supposed to mitigate for any damage, we’re supposed to keep them safe.”
Pelosi called the remarks made by DeVos “ill-informed.”
“So with stiff competition, that was one of the most ill-informed statements, stiff competition though in this administration on this and other subjects,” she said.
Watch her comments below:
Speaker Pelosi criticizes Education Sec. DeVos for indicating that kids have to take risks to go back to school:
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 9, 2020
“No, we don’t want our children to take risks to go to school. We’re supposed to mitigate for any damage, we’re supposed to keep them safe.” https://t.co/79OQufBkrT pic.twitter.com/Pv9o9IMiJF
Pelosi claimed the Trump administration seems to be “turning its back on science.”
She noted a large majority of Americans want to reopen schools, including the teachers, but it is something that has to be done safely.
Pelosi argued in order for students to return safely to schools, state and local governments need to have the resources to function.
She pointed to the HEROES Act as a solution, as it includes funding for schools.
Speaking at a White House event on Tuesday, Trump vowed to put pressure on governors and other officials to reopen schools, as IJR previously reported.
His comments drew criticism from others including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
During his press briefing on Wednesday, Cuomo argued Trump does not have the “authority” to reopen schools.
Trump pushed for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to revise its guidance on reopening schools, as IJR previously reported.
According to CDC Director Robert Redfield, the CDC does not plan to revise its guidelines, but rather will provide more information.
It is unclear when students will be able to return to school as the number of coronavirus cases continues to increase across the nation.
As of Thursday afternoon, there are more than 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States and over 132,000 deaths.
