DAVE GROHL Argues Against Reopening Schools Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Dave Grohl has released the first audio version of his "Dave's True Stories" series. The nine-minute episode sees the FOO FIGHTERS frontman — whose mother was a public school teacher — defending teachers amid the "daunting and evermore politicized question of reopening our schools in the coronavirus pandemic."

"Teachers are confronted with a whole new set of dilemmas that most people would not consider. There's so much more to be addressed than just opening the doors and sending [children] back home, my mother tells me on the phone," Grohl said, as per Rolling Stone. "Now 82 and retired, she runs down a list of concerns based on her 35 years of experience: Masks and distancing, temperature checks, crowded bussing, crowded hallways, sports, air-conditioning systems, lunchrooms, public restrooms, janitorial staff. Most schools already struggle from a lack of resources. How can they possibly afford the mountain of safety measures that will need to be in place?"

Earlier in the month, President Donald Trump in a series of tweets threatened to withhold federal funds from schools that don't reopen and lashed out at the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention over guidelines for reopening.

According to Grohl, the only way to avoid risking crowding students back into classrooms until the coronavirus is fully under control is to continue to offer instruction online-only.

"Remote learning is an inconvenient and hopefully temporary solution, but as much as Donald Trump's conductor-less orchestra would love to see the country reopen schools in the name of rosy optics, ask a science teacher what they think about White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's comment that 'Science should not stand in the way,'" Grohl said. "It would be foolish to do so at the expense of our students, teachers and school."

Two weeks ago, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refused to say whether schools should follow guidelines from the CDC on reopening, saying those guidelines are meant to be "flexible."

"The CDC guidelines are just that, meant to be flexible and meant to be applied as appropriate for the situation," DeVos told CNN's "State Of The Union".