REOPENING

Maryland Guv Clashes With County on Online-Only Private School Order

Gov. Larry Hogan overruled last week’s order that prevented private schools in Montgomery County, including one attended by Barron Trump, from opening before October 1.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan overruled a prior order from a Montgomery County health official Monday that would have prevented private schools in the county from returning to school before Oct. 1. Hogan issued an emergency order Monday that said private schools’ reopening would be up to individual schools and not mandated by the state. “The blanket closure mandate imposed by Montgomery County was overly broad and inconsistent with the powers intended to be delegated to the county health officer,” Hogan said. The health official, Travis Gayles, had cited rising coronavirus cases in last week’s mandate. One of the schools affected by this reversal, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, is attended by President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.