During an interview with ABC on Thursday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stated that he expects “all schools across the country to give students full-time schooling, five days a week,” for the fall, schools need to do what they should to make schools safe to be open now, and that “there’s no reason” schools can’t be opened in the fall. He added, “We have to focus on, if we really want our schools reopened, we have to make sure we’re getting vaccinated in areas where they’re not getting vaccinated.”
Cardona said, “I expect all schools across the country to give students full-time schooling, five days a week, in the fall. Our students have been waiting long enough for that. I’m glad to see that the data got better as the year progressed. But it’s time to bring our students back full-time. And keep in mind, we were able to do it successfully in places that used mitigation strategies, so there’s no reason that I feel we can’t do that in the fall.”
He added, “We have to focus on, if we really want our schools reopened, we have to make sure we’re getting vaccinated in areas where they’re not getting vaccinated. It works. We have months of data to show that the transmission rates are low and people can get about business as usual before the pandemic when they’re vaccinated. So, part of the campaign to reopen schools is making sure that vaccination is available and that people are getting the shots in the arm. It works.”
Cardona further stated that the Department of Education is working with states “to make sure that, not only do we expect them to be reopened, but that they’re using their American Rescue Plan funds to make sure that they’re putting in place those mitigation strategies to make sure schools are safe for reopening, not only in the fall, but now, in the summer, when we know many students are benefiting from summer learning experiences.”
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