The comments come as Biden’s 2020 rival, President Trump, has begun promising to turn up the heat on US governors to reopen public schools in the fall.
“Of course he does,” the Team Biden source said when asked if the former vice president hoped schools would be able to return in the fall.
“That’s why he’s been making these proposals and pressing Trump to act. But we need to ensure we can do it safely, in line with the recommendations of public health experts, and Trump keeps failing us on that score,” they added.
Speaking from the White House on Tuesday, the commander-in-chief was adamant in his pledge that students would return to in-person classes in the fall.
“We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open. It’s very important,” he said at a White House event on school reopenings.
“So we are going to be putting a lot of pressure on [governors] to open your schools in the fall,” he continued.
Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement on Trump’s efforts, “Almost a month ago, Joe Biden called out Donald Trump for failing to do the work to help our schools reopen safely and effectively — and laid out clear steps that would give schools the guidance, resources, and support they need to do so. Almost two months ago, Biden was advocating for badly-needed relief to our states and cities so that they could pay teachers, but Trump and Senate Republicans are still stalling on that.”
Biden’s schools reopening plan includes significantly scaled-up funding for PPE and “enhanced sanitation efforts” for child care providers and schools — particularly Title I schools.
Speaking Friday during a virtual fundraiser with the National Education Association, Biden predicted schools would likely use distance learning “for a while longer,” before echoing the teachers union’s call for more money for safety measures.