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Donald Trump’s push to reopen schools comes amid a nationwide debate over whether it’s safe for children to return to the classroom amid coronavirus.<\/p>\n
USA TODAY<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n On Wednesday, President Donald Trump put the nation’s schools on notice via Twitter<\/a>, saying he may cut their funding if they don’t reopen their classrooms this fall.<\/p>\n He also tweeted Wednesday that he disagrees with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC)<\/a> “very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Vice President Mike Pence said the agency would be issuing new guidance<\/a> next week.<\/p>\n CDC\u00a0Director Dr. Robert Redfield has since announced that the agency will not revise its guidance.\u00a0White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday said the CDC will not\u00a0revise the current guidelines but will issue “supplemental guidance.”\u00a0<\/p>\n While the CDC recommendations<\/a>\u00a0on in-school practices \u2013 such as wearing face masks, separating desks\u00a0and staggering schedules for students \u2013 still hold, the debate led many to question whether the president has the power to cut federal school funding or influence the CDC. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions from public health and educational policy leaders:<\/p>\n In short, no.<\/p>\n “It’s a constitutional issue,” said William Mathis, managing director\u00a0at the National Education Policy Center. “The purse\u00a0is controlled by the Congress.”<\/p>\n Because the president doesn’t have Congress’ fiscal powers, any effort by the Trump administration to tie already-approved funding to specific actions would likely end up in court.<\/p>\n For the next round of funding, the Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to agree to target it only to reopened schools.<\/p>\n Democrats included $58 billion in additional school funding in a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that passed the House in May and must still be negotiated with the GOP-controlled Senate.<\/p>\n Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Thursday that it\u2019s \u201ctoo early to tell\u201d if an agreement can be reached on the administration\u2019s desire to add conditions to additional school assistance.<\/p>\n \u201cI would much prefer that schools open,\u201d Roberts added. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want them to open unless it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal government provides billions of dollars to schools through grants for low-income schools and special education programs.\u00a0Washington also designated about $13 billion for schools in a previous coronavirus relief package.<\/p>\n However, the vast majority of funding for public schools across the country still comes from non-federal sources.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Department of Education<\/a>, at the elementary and secondary school level, typically only 8% of funds come from the federal government \u2013 and that includes contributions not only from the Department of Education but also other\u00a0federal agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch Program.<\/p>\n The remaining 92% of funding falls largely on states and local\u00a0districts. Mathis explains how most local funds come from property taxes\u00a0\u2013 which means low-income communities, in particular, are underfunded, as they don’t have the necessary tax base.<\/p>\n “It’s very inequitable,” he said.\u00a0“The burden falls worst\u00a0on the poorer districts, the big-city districts.”<\/p>\n Therefore, federal funding \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 has a greater impact on lower-income districts.<\/p>\n “Ultimately it’s not a matter of ‘if’ schools should reopen, it’s simply a matter of ‘how,'” said Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “They must fully open and they must be fully operational, and how\u00a0that happens is best left to education and community leaders.”<\/p>\n DeVos pointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) guidance, which urges schools to reopen if possible.<\/p>\n In addition to underlining the importance of implementing public health policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19, AAP writes, “AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”<\/p>\n McEnany has pointed to the millions\u00a0who depend on in-person school lunches. The National School Lunch Program’s\u00a0daily participation<\/a> is around\u00a030 million students.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mathis also recognizes\u00a0the number of negative implications that come with closing the schools again\u00a0\u2013 including\u00a0the lack of childcare options for parents, negative social development impacts, and academic progress\u00a0\u2013 but\u00a0notes the dangers of the pandemic.<\/p>\n “I think we need to get the schools open as soon as practical, but I worry…that we may be opening too fast, and if we just re-up the cycle of the virus, we haven’t gained a thing, and, in fact, we may lose a great deal,” he said.<\/p>\n On June 7, the National Education Association’s President Lily Eskelsen Garc\u00eda called the president’s plan to reopen schools in the fall\u00a0“callous.”<\/p>\n CLOSE \n National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garc\u00eda on Tuesday slammed president Donald Trump’s suggestion that schools should reopen this fall, calling it “callous.” (July 7)<\/p>\n AP Domestic<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Everything could go wrong,” she said. “We are asking people\u00a0to stop taking medical advice from Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos.\u00a0Really listen to the school nurse, listen to what the infectious disease experts are saying, and, by the way, listen to a school\u00a0teacher.”<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>School reopening plans are now part of COVID-19 politics. Teachers fear for their safety.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n “When we do it wrong, people die.”<\/p>\n No. While the administration is pushing hard for schools to reopen, officials have also said implementation decisions have to be made on the local level.<\/p>\n CLOSE \n New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the decision to reopen schools is up to state officials. He made the comments following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement that NYC schools would reopen in September. (July 8)<\/p>\n AP Domestic<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “None of the CDC’s recommendations are intended to replace state and local rules and guidance,” Vice President Mike Pence told reporters Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pence also said the administration will be \u201cvery respectful\u201d of states and communities that \u201cmay adjust to either a certain set of days or certain limitations\u201d given their rate of infections.<\/p>\n Likewise, the CDC says its recommendations should be \u201ctailored to the needs of each community\u201d and are meant to supplement, not replace, any state or local rules that schools must follow.<\/p>\n But administration officials are concerned that, instead of using the guidelines to help them reopen, schools will employ them \u201cas a rationale to keep schools closed.\u201d Redfield wanted \u201cto make it very clear\u201d Wednesday that that should not happen.<\/p>\n Despite Trump’s distaste\u00a0for\u00a0the guidance, Redfield said Thursday on CNN<\/a>\u00a0the CDC will not revise its guidance for reopening schools.<\/p>\n Instead, as Redfield told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” additional reference documents will be provided.<\/p>\n “Our guidelines are our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid basically communities in trying to open K-12s,” Redfield said. “It’s not a revision of the guidelines; it’s just to provide additional information to help schools be able to use the guidance we put forward.”<\/p>\n This is not the first disagreement between Trump and CDC guidance.<\/p>\n Trump has been vocal about his distrust of mail-in ballots, again, on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history – unless this stupidity is ended,” he wrote.<\/p>\n But CDC guidance<\/a> on upcoming elections still states that\u00a0a wider variety of voting options\u00a0\u2013 including mail-in ballots\u00a0\u2013 helps lower risk for infection.<\/p>\n In April, Dr. Rick Bright said he was ousted<\/a> from his position at the Department of Health and Human Services because he opposed the drug hydroxychloroquine, which Trump was touting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, for example, during the Reagan administration, the CDC issued recommendations to prevent the spread of AIDS in 1983<\/a>. By the end of 1984<\/a>, the disease had already affected at least 7,700 people across the U.S. and killed more than 3,500.<\/p>\n Historians argue that Reagan \u201call but ignored the epidemic<\/a>.\u201d According to BBC<\/a>, the first time the president made a public speech about AIDS wasn\u2019t until 1987.<\/p>\n Contributing: Maureen Groppe\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Read or Share this story: https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2020\/07\/09\/can-trump-do-that-faq-cdc-guidelines-federal-funding-schools\/5404817002\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCan the president change or revoke federal funding for public schools?<\/h2>\n
How is federal funding determined? What\u00a0schools are most impacted?<\/h2>\n
Who doesn’t want schools to reopen?<\/h2>\n
<\/img><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCan Trump use the CDC to force schools to reopen?<\/h2>\n
<\/img><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCan the president influence CDC guidance?<\/h2>\n
Have previous presidents been at odds with the CDC?<\/h2>\n
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