Coronavirus

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

Charts

Illustration of Covid-19 impacting 3 years of school
9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
View Charts
Cheryl Watson-Harris, superintendent of the DeKalb County School District in DeKalb, Ga.
Cheryl Watson-Harris, superintendent of the DeKalb County School District in Georgia.
Dustin Chambers for Education Week
School & District Management Districts Are Leaning on Medical Advisers to Help With COVID Policies. It’s Paying Off
Some superintendents have set up expert panels to weigh in on districts’ mitigation plans and get community buy-in.
Stephen Sawchuk, October 5, 2021
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9 min read
Marcus Morgan, 14, waits to receive his Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Families Together of Orange County in Tustin, Calif., on May 13, 2021.
Marcus Morgan, 14, waits to receive his Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Families Together of Orange County in Tustin, Calif., on May 13, 2021.
Jae C. Hong/AP
States California Is Mandating COVID Vaccines for Kids. Will Other States Follow?
California's is the first statewide student requirement for COVID-19 vaccines. Will other states follow? And what about loopholes?
Evie Blad, October 4, 2021
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5 min read
In this Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 file photo, senior Clinical Research Nurse Ajithkumar Sukumaran prepares the COVID 19 vaccine to administer to a volunteer, at a clinic in London. British scientists are beginning a small study comparing how two experimental coronavirus vaccines might work when they are inhaled by people instead of being injected. In a statement on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, researchers at Imperial College London and Oxford University said a trial involving 30 people would test vaccines developed by both institutions when participants inhale the droplets in their mouths, which would directly target their respiratory systems.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Oct. 1 denied a request to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of the New York City school system.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Law & Courts Justice Sotomayor Denies Bid to Block Vaccine Mandate for New York City School Employees
The Supreme Court justice's refusal involves the COVID-19 vaccine requirement in the nation's largest school district.
Mark Walsh, October 2, 2021
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2 min read
Peggy Donahue, a nurse at McGlynn Middle School, hands a student a q-tip to perform a self-administered COVID-19 test at McGlynn Middle School in Medford, Mass., on March 15, 2021.
Peggy Donahue, a school nurse, hands a student a cotton swab to perform a self-administered COVID-19 test at McGlynn Middle School in Medford, Mass.
Nathan Klima for Education Week
Federal Senators Grill Biden Officials on Schools' COVID Testing Challenges
COVID-19 testing is a key Biden strategy for opening schools, but administrators have struggled with shortages of staffing and supplies.
Evie Blad, September 30, 2021
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4 min read
Opponents of legislation that tightened rules on exemptions for vaccinations demonstrate outside the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sacramento, Calif., in Sept. 2019. Medical exemptions in California more than tripled in the three years after they became the only allowable reason for a student to be unvaccinated.
Opponents of legislation that tightened rules on exemptions for vaccinations demonstrate outside the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sacramento, Calif., in Sept. 2019.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
States How Vaccine Loopholes Could Weaken COVID Shot Mandates for Kids
For years before the pandemic, states sought to tighten loopholes in school vaccine requirements. Those efforts may now be put to the test.
Evie Blad, September 28, 2021
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9 min read
Two students wearing masks and backpacks in front of lockers.
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Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says CDC: COVID Outbreaks Far Higher at Schools Without Mask Mandates
New research finds that, weeks into the school year, COVID cases were more than three times higher for schools that did not require students to wear masks.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 24, 2021
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3 min read
Illustration of a vaccine, medical equipment, a clock and a calendar with a date marked in red.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Some Teachers Won't Get Vaccinated, Even With a Mandate. What Should Schools Do About It?
Vaccine requirements for teachers are gaining traction, but the logistics of upholding them are complicated.
Madeline Will, September 24, 2021
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9 min read
Houston Health Department LVN Alicia Meza prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 3, at a Houston Health Department's COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
A nurse in Houston prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A federal advisory committee voted not to recommend a booster shot for K-12 school staff.
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP
Teaching Profession CDC Director Approves Booster Shots for Teachers, Reversing Panel's Decision
Workers in high-exposure jobs, including school staff, may receive a Pfizer booster shot, based on an assessment of their individual benefits and risks.
Madeline Will, September 23, 2021
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6 min read
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, shown at a news conference last month, appointed a new surgeon general for the state who issued an emergency rule that the decision to quarantine students will be up to parents, not school districts.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, shown at a news conference last month, appointed a new surgeon general for the state who issued an emergency rule that the decision to quarantine students will be up to parents, not school districts.
Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP
States To Quarantine or Not? Florida Is Letting Parents Decide
The choice to quarantine exposed students will be up to parents, not school districts, under a rule signed by Florida’s new surgeon general.
Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 23, 2021
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6 min read
Cole Rodriguez, a 15-year-old student at Topeka West, gets a COVID-19 vaccine Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 at Topeka High School's vaccine clinic.
Cole Rodriguez, a 15-year-old student, gets a COVID-19 vaccine at Topeka High School's vaccine clinic.
Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
School & District Management COVID Vaccines for Kids: 6 Tips for Administering the Shot in Your School
Start planning now, get help, and build enthusiasm. It's harder than it looks.
Stephen Sawchuk & Sarah Schwartz, September 22, 2021
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11 min read
The Student Council lead the creation of “sensory hallways” at Western Branch Middle School in Chesapeake, Va.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona looks on as Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks with reporters after touring Access Hawthorne Family Health Center, which is offering COVID-19 vaccines at 3040 S. Cicero Ave. in Cicero, as part of the Department of Education's "Return to School Road Trip" events in the Chicago area, Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2021.
Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP
States During Site Visit From Cardona, Illinois Governor Defends Vaccine, Testing Policies
“The testing regimen is there in order to make sure that they’re not entering the institution where they work and spreading COVID-19.”
Karen Ann Cullotta, Chicago Tribune, September 22, 2021
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3 min read
School & District Management Letter to the Editor School Mask Mandates: Pandemic, ‘Panicdemic,’ or Personal?
"A pandemic is based on facts. A 'panicdemic' is based on fears. Today, we have both," writes a professor.
September 21, 2021
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1 min read
Principal and District Superintendent Bonnie Lower takes the temperature of a student at Willow Creek School as the school reopened, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Willow Creek, Mont.
Bonnie Lower, a principal and district superintendent in Willow Creek, Mont., checks the temperature of a student as Willow Creek School reopened for in-person instruction in the spring.
Ryan Berry/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP
School & District Management How 'Vaccine Discrimination' Laws Make It Harder for Schools to Limit COVID Spread
In Montana and Ohio, the unvaccinated are a protected class, making it tough to track and contain outbreaks, school leaders say.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 21, 2021
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4 min read
Students line up to have their temperature taken as they return for the first time as their school, The Learning Community, reopens to in-person learning after it closed for the pandemic a year ago, in Central Falls, R.I., on March 29, 2021.
Students line up to have their temperature taken as they return for the first time as their school, The Learning Community, reopens to in-person learning after it closed for the pandemic a year ago, in Central Falls, R.I., on March 29, 2021.
David Goldman/AP
Law & Courts Families Sue Rhode Island's Governor to Overturn His School Mask Mandate
The families say mask-wearing threatens to cause serious and long-lasting damage on their children's physical and emotional well-being.
Linda Borg, The Providence Journal, September 17, 2021
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2 min read
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