The nation’s top public health agency has released a roadmap for reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic. It emphasizes mask wearing and social distancing and other actions but saying vaccination of teachers is important but not a prerequisite for reopening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the long-awaited update Friday. The CDC cannot force schools to reopen, and agency officials were careful to say they are not calling for a mandate that all U.S. schools be reopened. But they said there is strong evidence now that in-person schooling can be done safely, especially at lower grade levels, and the guidance is targeted at schools that teach kindergarten up to 12th grade.
