Coronavirus

Education news, analysis, and opinion about COVID-19 and its impact on schools and communities

Charts

9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
Image of a dial that assesses problems, dangers, risks, and liabilities.
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Budget & Finance Why Failing to Require Masks Could Cost Districts Millions Later
Some insurance providers are threatening to cancel districts' coverage this school year—particularly if they break statewide mask mandates.
Mark Lieberman, August 20, 2021
9 min read
Yellow school bus parked next to playground and school.
Getty
School & District Management Amid Pressure, S.C. District That Closed Due to a COVID Outbreak to Reopen, Without Masks
The Pickens County School District will reopen after a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases forced schools to close and shift to remote learning.
Lyn Riddle, The State (Columbia, S.C.), August 19, 2021
3 min read
Image of child being vaccinated
Getty
School & District Management Calif. School District to Require Vaccines for Eligible Students, in What May Be a First
Culver City's student vaccine mandate has the overwhelming support of parents, teachers, and staff, said the district superintendent.
Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2021
4 min read
Image of a face mask on school notebook.
Steven White/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Face Masks and Kids: Separating Fact From Fiction
As debates over face masks in school heat up, here are the facts educators need to know.
8 min read
First Lady Jill Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona tour Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, in Meriden, Ct., on March 3, 2021.
First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona tour Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, in Meriden, Ct., in March
Mandel Ngan/AP
Federal Biden Administration to Treat Masks in Schools as a Civil Rights Issue
Officials will investigate complaints that inadequate mask policies violate the rights of vulnerable students, the education secretary says.
Evie Blad, August 18, 2021
4 min read
Young Black boy in the classroom wearing mask during COVID-19
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School & District Management Texas School District Finds Unique Loophole in Gov. Abbott's Ban on Mask Mandates
The Paris school district's board of trustees voted to alter the district's dress code to include masks.
Stefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 18, 2021
1 min read
Man trapped in maze.
Researchers found a patchwork of state policies on masks in schools, remote learning, and tracking teacher vaccinations.
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States Many States Have Left Schools Hanging About How to Reopen Safely, Analysis Finds
Researchers found a patchwork of state policies on masks in schools, remote learning, and tracking teacher vaccinations.
Evie Blad, August 17, 2021
5 min read
081721 LAUSD COVID Testing TNS BS
Raizah Touch swabs her son Skyzell Touch, 6, for a coronavirus test at Northridge Middle School is Los Angeles on Aug. 11, 2021.
Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via TNS
School & District Management Inside the L.A. School District’s Massive COVID Testing Effort
The most ambitious school district testing program in the nation is being put to its own test with the opening of more than 1,000 schools.
Laura Newberry, Melissa Gomez, and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2021
8 min read
Davis Eidahl, a science teacher at Pekin High School in Packwood, Iowa, says he doesn't want to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He thinks social distancing and occasional masking will be sufficient to keep himself and others safe.
Davis Eidahl, a science teacher at Pekin High School in Packwood, Iowa, says he doesn't want to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He thinks social distancing and occasional masking will be sufficient to keep himself and others safe.
Rachel Mummey for Education Week
Teaching Profession In Their Own Words Why This Science Teacher Doesn't Want the COVID Vaccine
Contrary to public health guidance, Davis Eidahl, an Iowa high school teacher, has no plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Catherine Gewertz, August 17, 2021
4 min read
Photo showing a group of elementary school classmates wearing protective face masks in the classroom while desks are socially distanced due to new COVID-19 regulations.
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Student Well-Being & Movement Mask Exemptions: Which Students Really Need Them and How Are Parents Getting Them?
AAP and CDC guidance allows very few medical reasons a child cannot wear a mask. Yet some parents already have medical exemptions in hand.
Lisa Gutierrez, Sarah Ritter, and Eric Adler, The Kansas City Star, August 16, 2021
11 min read
Image shows lady justice standing before an open law book and gavel.
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Law & Courts School Districts Defying Texas Mask Ban Face Setback From State Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court stepped in to void temporary restraining orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates.
Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman, August 16, 2021
6 min read
A Broward County school bus is seen at a bus depot in Broward County, Fla.
A Broward County school bus is seen at a bus depot in Broward County, Fla.
MediaPunch via AP
Teaching Profession In Fla. District Caught in Mask Debate, 3 Educators Die of COVID Just Before School Starts
One week before school is set to begin, three Broward County Public Schools teachers died in recent days from COVID-19 complications.
Madeleine Romance, Miami Herald, August 13, 2021
1 min read
Conceptual image of hundred dollar bills with some of the images of Benjamin Franklin masked.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock
Education Funding Can Governors Really Take Money From Schools Over Masks?
State leaders are using the threat of funding cuts as a weapon in the mask debate—but it's not clear if they can or will follow through.
Mark Lieberman, August 13, 2021
7 min read
Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa announces that masks will be required at all Dallas ISD schools at DISD headquarters in Dallas, Monday, August 9, 2021.
Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa announces that masks will be required at all district schools earlier this week in Dallas.
Brandon Wade/The Dallas Morning News via AP
School & District Management In Their Own Words Defiant Superintendent: 'How Can I Follow a Law I Believe Endangers My Students?'
A superintendent explains why he required masks in school despite a statewide ban on such policies.
Stephen Sawchuk, August 12, 2021
4 min read