As many parents and school officials begin thinking about how or even whether to reopen schools in the fall, many experts have been weighing in on the topic. While most seem to be in agreement that there are certainly public health risks to reopening schools in the fall, most of the experts have stated that they feel it would do more harm than good to keep students out of school. 

On June 30th, Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts testified before Congress concerning the coronavirus pandemic. On the topic of reopening schools Fauci recommended, “Always make the goal that It is very important to get children back to school for the unintended negative consequences that occur when we keep them out of school.” Fauci says, “It really will depend on the dynamics of the outbreak and where the particular school is.” 

Since then other medical experts have come out in favor of this recommendation, including Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore is cautiously optimistic stating, “it will be important to have precautions in place for vulnerable populations involved in education.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics has also come out in favor of reopening schools this fall. They’ve released a statement which “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” They reason that schools play a critical role in the development and well-being of children and adolescents. School provides children with so much more than just academic progress. Schools often provide access to meal programs and other school-based health services. 

While critics have expressed concerns, many in favor of reopening schools suggest that evidence indicates that young children are less likely to contract the virus and are therefore less likely to transmit the virus. According to the CDC, the hospitalization rate of school-age children in the U.S. has been 0.1 per 100,000, compared with 7.4 per 100,000 for adults ages 50 to 64. Additionally, few deaths among children have been reported.

In the San Diego Unified School District, 50,000 parents were surveyed with results indicating that 59%  want their children to be able to attend school on campus, while more than 30% would prefer a mix of online and on site learning options. Approximately 10% indicated they were exclusively in favor of online learning.