No In-Person Classes for Barron Trump: Official

His Maryland county puts the kibosh on private schools
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2020 4:40 PM CDT
Barron Trump Won't Be Attending In-Person Classes
In this Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019 file photo, President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Barron Trump walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

President Trump's son Barron won't be attending his private school in September after a COVID-19 directive from health officials, Business Insider reports. Travis Gayles—head of public health services in Montgomery County, Maryland—issued a statement Friday that affects St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where Barron is set to enter the 9th grade. "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have based our decisions on science and data," Gayles said. "At this point the data does not suggest that in-person instruction is safe for students or teachers."

Gayles added that rising transmission rates of the coronavirus, especially in "younger age groups" in and around Maryland, prompted him to order the closure of private schools throughout September. The county's public school system, meanwhile, has announced that the entire first semester will be virtual-only. CNN notes that Gayles' announcement comes at a time when Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has called for all schools to open despite virus hot spots. For his part, Trump said Thursday that "indefinite school closures will inflict lasting harm to our nation's children. We must follow the science, get students safely back to school while protecting children, teachers, staff, and family." (More schools stories.)

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