With the possibility that millions or tens of millions of American children will not enter a classroom for an entire year, school districts face an agonizing choice: Do the benefits of in-person learning outweigh the risks it poses to public health in a pandemic? Today, we explore how teachers and their unions are responding to demands from some parents, and the president, to reopen their schools this fall. Guest: Dana Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times, who covers the impact of education policies on families, students and teachers. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

• With almost 1,200 staff and students now quarantined, the reopening of Atlanta’s Cherokee County School District could presage a difficult back-to-school season.
• Many teachers are anxious and angry: They say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students physically distanced and prevent further spread of the virus have not been answered.
• Our illustrator imagined what going back to school might look like this fall.