MONDAY. 8/10
FEDERAL
Phase 4: On Saturday, President Trump signed four Executive Orders (EOs):
- Payroll Tax Deferral: Calls on the Secretary of Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of payroll taxes for Sept. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020. The EO does not specify when deferred payroll taxes must be paid. A payroll tax holiday has been a priority for the Administration but has failed to gain any traction among both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, nor the business community.
- Expanded Unemployment Benefits: Will extend the expanded payments that expired on July 31. The EO would reduce the benefit from $600 to $400 ($300 from the federal government and $100 from states). The funding would come out of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and the Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF),
- Rent Assistance: The EO does not extend the moratorium on evictions - it just instructs several federal agencies to look for ways to help renters facing evictions.
- Deferral of Student Debt Payments: The EO pauses monthly payments and interest for student loan borrowers until Dec. 31, 2020.
There are a number of complexities with these EOs. Most legal experts agree that the president can waive penalties for late federal student-loan payments. However, he cannot freeze evictions nationwide, which the EO seems to concede since it encourages agencies to identify ways of providing renter assistance rather than extend the CARES Act eviction moratorium.
The other two are more complicated. The Administration seems to be creating a new UI program out of FEMA funding which would take months to implement and also tap into a funding source used as part of relief efforts during hurricane season. And it seems like a non-starter for states whose budgets are already depleted to be able to find the 25% of matching funds. The payroll tax holiday is a temporary freeze - meaning it's not forgiven just deferred. And the legal authority for this action is questionable, including its constitutionality. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said all four of the EOs were vetted by the Office of Legal Counsel (an influential office within DOJ that issues opinions on complex legal matters including constitutional questions), but those opinions were not released with the EOs. We're likely to see several of these challenges in court. And it's not likely that this changes the dynamics with the legislative negotiations around a Phase 4 package.
STATE
NGA Executive Leadership: Governor Cuomo will be chair this coming year with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson as vice chair. The other seven members of the executive committee are:
- Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama,
- Governor Jared Polis of Colorado,
- Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland,
- Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts,
- Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan,
- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico
- Governor Gary Herbert of Utah.
Connecticut: Gov. Lamont is vowing to avoid a “lost year” for students and said he believes schools must try to reopen later this month for in-person learning.
Indiana: The IndyStar is tracking cases of COVID-19 in schools around the state and publishing it on their website as a searchable database.
Kentucky: The Kentucky Education Agency called on schools to start remotely until positivity rates are below 4% (for reference, a standard that is stricter than what is recommended by the WHO and CDC).
West Virginia: The Governor launched a new map of more than 1,000 free public hotspots available through public schools, higher education institutions, libraries and state parks.
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INTERNATIONAL
Germany: An oped from a German mother on their reopening experience.
Israel: To shrink classes, Israel needs to hire 15,000 teachers.
Scotland: Schools reopen tomorrow.
UK:
- Boris Johnson said it is a "moral duty” to get all children back in class and that he would force pubs, restaurants and shops to close ahead of schools in the event of an outbreak.
- The teachers union issued a list 200 safety demands and insisted classes be held 'one week on, one week off'
COVID Prevalence When Schools Reopened: Some schools can likely safely reopen, researchers say, but the new findings suggest the facilities should proceed carefully.
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ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Millennials Slammed by Second Financial Crisis Fall Even Further Behind: WSJ article on the economic shocks Millenials have had to endure. Millennials on average missed out on more than $25,000 in pay, or 13% of their total earnings, during the decade that ended in 2017 as a result of the rising unemployment rate that started in 2007, according to an analysis published last year by Census Bureau economist Kevin Rinz.
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Rent Crisis: An estimated 27% of adults missed their rent or mortgage payment for July. 31% of Black renters said that they were unable to pay last month’s rent, versus 28% of Latino renters and 14% of white renters. 37% say they have little confidence they'll be able to pay rent in August.
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LEARNING PODS
Costs of Podding: Great CNBC piece exploring the costs of pods, including cost sharing among families and different types of instruction/supports. Outschool is also starting a foundation to provide assistance to low-income families.
Shadow Schools: A roller rink. The YMCA. Houses of worship. All are creating makeshift classrooms. San Francisco is launching “learning hubs” staffed by city and nonprofit employees that can serve up to 6,000 elementary school-age children at locations within walking distance from their homes.
Orlando: The city of Orlando is launching learning pods at six neighborhood centers.
North Carolina Pods: Article on the use of pods in NC including the Wake County school system who is partnering with several community groups to offer socially distanced learning centers where working parents can drop their children at during the day.
Colorado School Supporting Pods: Adams 12 wants to add a twist to the learning pod idea by having the district support them at no cost to families. The district will have these students meet in school buildings, five-days-a-week. A teacher will still lead instruction, but a district employee like a school school bus driver or cafeteria worker will serve as a Learning Pod Leader to help the kids directly.
RESOURCES
97,000 Children Tested Positive: In the last two weeks of July, according to a report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
Studying Mask Efficacy: New study measuring the efficacy of different kinds of masks. Most masks were proven to be highly effective, but bandanas and neck fleeces/gaiters proved to be barely limit transmission.
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Khan Academy: Is seeing 2–3x traffic, 5–10x student/teacher registration, 20x parent registration. In an interview with Google.org, Sal Khan says, “COVID-19 feels like a ctrl+alt+delete on society, it’s moving us towards collective action."
Students Launch a New Platform: Inspired by COVID-19 restrictions, two 15-year-olds in Singapore created a free online learning platform for kids.
Incoming College Freshmen:
Planes May Not Be Superspreaders: New MIT research suggesting you have a 1/4300 chance of getting COVID-19 on a 2-hour flight that is full. The odds of getting the virus are about half that, 1/7700, if airlines leave the middle seat empty.
Safe and Healthy School Drop-off and Entry Routines: 7 steps
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