Pence to talk about reopening colleges during pandemic in visit to Indianapolis Friday

Vice President Mike Pence will return to his home state Friday to talk with higher education leaders about safely reopening schools amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to his office.

Pence will meet with college and university leaders at Marian University, a small private school in Indianapolis. The vice president and Second Lady Karen Pence will travel to Indiana Friday and return to Washington, D.C., later that evening. A time for the event has not been announced.

More education:Here are the Central Indiana districts that have delayed or changed reopening plans

Pence’s visit comes as Indiana’s colleges and universities are beginning to welcome students back onto campuses. Most of the state’s schools do have plans to resume in-person instruction, though many have amended their schedules to limit student travel and are developing robust protocols to test students for COVID-19. With their close quarters and communal living, college campuses are particularly susceptible to spread of the virus.

The White House has been urging both K-12 and higher education institutions to reopen for in-person instruction, with President Donald Trump going so far as to call for the withholding of federal funds for those that don’t reopen. He also recently accused schools of “radical left indoctrination” on Twitter and called for an examination into their tax-exempt status.

It’s unclear what Pence’s message to higher education leaders will be or who all will be included in the conversation.

'We need to open up America’s schools'

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels was an early advocate for bringing students back to college campuses and has pushed forward with plans to return 40,000 students to West Lafayette.

About 500 students arrived on campus for Purdue’s Summer Start and Early Start programs earlier this month. Of those, only three tested positive for COVID-19. Purdue has made a negative test mandatory to attend classes or move into a residence hall.

Indiana University will require all on-campus students to be tested. The university shut down voluntary football workouts last week after a number of players tested positive.

Two football players at the University of Notre Dame have also tested positive since returning to the South Bend campus this summer.

During a visit to South Carolina on Tuesday, Pence said he "wouldn't hesitate" to send his own children back to the classroom if they were still school-aged, despite the rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of the country.

"We know to open up America again we need to open up America’s schools, but it’s also right on the facts," Pence said during a discussion with state leaders about reopening.

Pence has been traveling the country in recent weeks, urging states to reopen their economies — and their schools. 

Many of Indiana’s K-12 schools have been amending their reopening plans in the last week as cases of the virus began to surge. Several school districts in central Indiana have said they will not bring students back into classrooms to start the year, instead choosing to deliver instruction virtually. Others have pushed back the start of their school year by a week or more. Indiana's schools are some of the earliest in the country to start their academic years, with the first slated to reopen next week.

USA Today contributed to this report. 

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.