How safe is it for elementary schools to meet in person?

Parents and teachers have been in a Catch-22 for months, weighing the long-term risks of denying students in-person learning against the health risks associated with surging coronavirus case counts that could impact the classroom.

While many U.S. children returned to classrooms in some capacity this fall, the nation’s record numbers of new cases and deaths have educators and families wondering about the viability of keeping schools open — and the plan for returning all schools to more traditional in-person instruction.

President-elect Joe Biden described his plan to balance the...