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  5. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump moved their kids to a new school after parents complained about the couple not following coronavirus protocols, report says

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump moved their kids to a new school after parents complained about the couple not following coronavirus protocols, report says

Ashley Collman   

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump moved their kids to a new school after parents complained about the couple not following coronavirus protocols, report says
  • Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump pulled their children out of the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School and moved them to Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  • Three Milton parents told the outlet that some parents had complained that Kushner and Trump weren't following the school's COVID-19 protocols, which asked families to avoid large gatherings and to follow social-distancing guidelines.
  • A longtime Milton parent with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider that the school tried to compromise with Kushner and Trump to give them certain allowances but that the talks didn't work out and the couple chose to leave.
  • A source close to the Kushner family told JTA that the family moved the kids to Berman because it offered more in-person schooling, not because of the COVID-19 rules.
  • A White House spokeswoman slammed the JTA report in a statement to Business Insider, calling the outlet's sources "idle gossips seeking press attention."

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and daughter, pulled their children out of their day school after other parents complained that the couple were not following coronavirus protocols, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources.

The outlet reported that the children were pulled out of the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School in Washington, DC, two weeks before Election Day and moved to Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Maryland.

The children started attending Milton when the family moved to Washington shortly after the 2016 presidential election.

A representative for Milton told JTA that the children "withdrew from the school."

A longtime Milton parent with knowledge of the matter also confirmed to Business Insider that the children transferred schools, adding that there were some parents who were sad to see the family go.

Three Milton parents told JTA that the couple withdrew their children after other parents complained that Kushner and Trump weren't following the coronavirus protocols that the school had laid out for families.

According to JTA, which obtained a copy of those protocols, the school asked that families "avoid hosting or attending large gatherings where proper social distancing measures are not feasible."

Kushner and Trump have both been photographed in recent weeks attending large gatherings and not following social-distancing guidelines.

A particular issue for parents, one mother told JTA, was the couple working closely with people who caught the virus at Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination event at the White House on September 26. Though Kushner and Trump were not at the event, they both work with people who were.

After the president announced on October 2 that he had tested positive for the virus, Milton school officials would not say when the children last had contact with their grandfather, the mother told JTA. (Kushner and Trump both tested negative following the news of the president's diagnosis.)

"There was concern for the safety of children because it was very clear the Kushner parents were violating public health recommendations," the mother told JTA.

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Two parents told JTA that the school tried to work out a compromise with Kushner and Trump to give them certain allowances because of their senior government roles but that they failed to reach an agreement.

The longtime parent who spoke to Business Insider confirmed these conversations took place. They said that the school tried to make it work with the couple but that ultimately they were unwilling to follow the school's guidance and chose to leave.

A source close to the Kushner family told JTA that the real reason the children were moved to Berman was that it offered more in-person classes during the pandemic.

Milton is split between remote and in-school learning but is set to be fully indoor starting next week, something that was in the works before Kushner and Trump pulled their kids out of the school, according to JTA.

When reached for comment on Thursday, White House spokeswoman Carolina Hurley slammed the JTA story, telling Business Insider in a statement: "Unnamed sources attacking a family's decision about what is best for their kids in the middle of a pandemic is shameful."

"As is true for all families, schooling choices and education are deeply personal decisions and they owe no one, especially idle gossips seeking press attention, an explanation," she said.

Avi Berkowitz, a close Kushner aide, told JTA that the family's departure wasn't due to the school's COVID-19 rules.

"The Kushners protect the privacy of their children and won't engage in idle gossip," he said.

A Milton representative declined to comment on Thursday. The Berman school did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Read the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's report here »

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