CNBC on the risks of reopening schools for the economy and how the pandemic disrupted the 2019-2020 school year

One of the responses by governors that Samantha Bee mocked last month was the insistence by some of them that schools reopen in their states while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. CNBC examined the issue in depth this week in How The Back-To-School Debate Can Make Or Break The U.S. Economy.

As September draws closer, the entire United States is debating the best way to restart the school year in the new Covid-19 era. President Trump has pushed hard for reopening schools, citing other countries that have been able to resume classes as evidence the United States can too. Here’s what’s at stake for the economy and what steps the U.S. can take toward getting back to class.

The examples of Israel and Sweden serve as cautionary tales. The first demonstrates how, even when community spread had been contained, not implementing social distancing policies can result in a second wave. That's a phenomenon that New York should work to avoid. The second applies more to states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, where the virus is running rampant. That will likely make a bad situation worse. If the economy loses billions of dollars and a fraction of a percentage because parents have to stay home to take care of their children because schools are closed, how much more will it lose if millions more Americans become sick and thousands more die?

The first video applies almost entirely to K-12 schools. What about colleges and universities? CNBC covered higher education as well in How Schools Are Handling The 2019-2020 School Year Disruption from May.

The 2019-2020 school year is another of the many things impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students across the United States from kindergarten through [high] school and into college moved to remote learning bringing with it many challenges.

Teaching remotely has been a challenge for me as it has been for my students. We're all finding out that working and studying from home is still work, even if we're spending fewer hours getting places because we're driving less. I have to learn new work habits now that I'm doing it from my home office and have stimuli that usually tell me to relax instead of concentrate. I'm sure that's true for my students, too.

Enough of the pandemic for now. Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature and a celebration of National Veep Day tomorrow.