Gov. Andrew Cuomo is playing coy about public schools opening in the fall. But rather than letting circumstances control him, he should working on whatever steps are needed to get kids back in class by September.

The simple fact is, many adults can’t go back to work themselves until schools reopen. You can’t leave children under 10 home by themselves.

Heck, summer camps will open in Connecticut next month. Much of New York should be just as safe.

Schools reopened in France this week, with much of Europe not far behind. It makes sense: One of the few things we know about the coronavirus is that it most threatens the elderly — children are less threatened, and don’t even seem to transmit the bug.

Yes, a new concern centers on a few coronavirus-stricken kids suffering a Kawasaki-like inflammatory syndrome. But the world will learn far more about that in the months before fall; it’s no excuse for a total stall.

Older teachers understandably worry. But some remote learning will certainly continue, especially for immune-compromised children: Unions can negotiate on behalf of those members, to get them some right to work from home — with a clear, fair arbitration process to handle disputes.

The unions need to agree to work rules that ensure remote instructors actually instruct: That, along with clear social-distancing guidelines and other protections for adults, can be the trade.

Remote instruction might even help to solve the shortage of teachers in areas like math and science. But that can’t happen unless the gov forthrightly says schools will reopen in September — and says so soon.

Doing that would give his advisory panel at least three months to say what that would look like and give districts the time to prepare for a smooth reopening.

Nothing needs to be set in stone yet, but nothing will send a better message than declaring that most kids will be back in school come September.