COVID-19 Policy Update
MONDAY 8/24
FEDERAL
Study Finds Very Low Numbers of COVID-19 Outbreaks In Schools: Placing this at the top given the implications for schools in the US. Public Health England (PHE) - an executive agency under the UK's Department of Health and Social Care - found only 67 single cases and 30 outbreaks (defined as 2 or more linked cases) in schools across England in June. Only 0.01% of open educational settings had an outbreak. Out of more than 1 million children attending pre-school and primary school in June, just 70 children were affected. The analysis found children were more likely to acquire the virus at home rather than at school. The study has been submitted to Lancent for review and publishing. Report / Data Tables.
CDC: Updated its school guidance Friday. "The available evidence from countries that have reopened schools showed that Covid-19 'poses low risks to school-aged children—at least in areas with low community transmission." They also recommend schools offer remote counseling and ensure the continuity of mental health services.
Court Blocks ED's Method of Sending Funds to Private Schools: U.S. District Court Judge Barbara J. Rothstein granted the state of Washington’s motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of the interim final rule issued by ED regarding the distribution of CARES Act funding to private schools. The dispute revolves around whether the CARES Act requires states to allocate funding to private schools using a formula based on the percentage of students from low-income families who attend private school or whether the CARES Act authorized USED to direct states to allocate funding based on total enrollment in private schools (as the Department asserts). Ed Week here.
USPS: On Saturday, the House passed a $25 billion emergency funding bill for the USPS, which Democrats say is urgently needed to halt any attempt by President Trump to impede mail-in voting this fall. The bill passed 257-150, with 26 Republicans backing the bill. The bill does not have a path forward in the Senate, with both the Senate and White House preferring to address USPS funding through a comprehensive Phase 4 bill. It also has drawn criticism for why a similar sense of urgency isn't being applied to passing a Phase 4 or at least funding in the areas where there is agreement.
STATE
Tracking COVID Cases in Schools:
Florida: Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled in favor of Florida’s statewide teachers union, saying Department of Education officials “essentially ignored the requirement of school safety” when they ordered campuses to reopen for face-to-face classes this month. Decision here and some select quotes:
- "If an individual school district chooses safety, that is, delaying the start of schools until it individually determines it is safe to do so for its county, it risks losing state funding, even though every student is being taught."
- "The Order states the day-to-day decision to open or close a school rests locally with the school boards, subject to the advice of local health officials. Although that language sounds good, it is essentially meaningless. Plaintiffs presented convincing evidence that State health officials were instructed not to provide an opinion on the reopening of schools.
- "Interestingly, this hearing was done remotely, via Zoom technology. That is because it has been decided it is unsafe to hold in person trials in the Leon County courthouse during this highly dangerous pandemic. That was a local decision based on local conditions."
- Additionally, Defendants' medical expert is a distinguished research doctor who teaches at Stanford University. Although he testified it is safe enough to reopen our schools, he also admitted Stanford University will not be holding in-person classes in the fall. Classes there will be taught remotely because of the pandemic."
- "The Court finds Plaintiffs have met their burden. The Order is unconstitutional to the extent it arbitrarily disregards safety, denies local school boards decision making with respect to reopening brick and mortar schools, and conditions funding on an approved reopening plan with a start date in August. The Order will, however, pass constitutional muster if its unconstitutional portions are severed." [The court then went on to strike several sections from the order]
Indiana: Southwest Allen County School District is looking for more than 100 students from any district to enroll in their new eSACS program at no cost.
New York:
Oklahoma: The Tulsa SEED Study:
- Nearly 1 in 5 parents reported that their child never communicated with their teacher during distance learning.
- 2 in 5 children spent an hour per day or less on distance learning, as reported by their parents.
- Half of teachers reported that they spent an hour or less per day on live instruction.
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INTERNATIONAL
Germany: Only 41 of 825 schools in Berlin schools reported coronavirus cases during the two weeks after the German capital’s 825 schools reopened.
Ireland: At least 100 children aged between five and 14 have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks.
Iraq: The 'Covid-19 generation' faces forced labour, lack of school. With unemployment high, many children are forced to work as street sellers.
Mexico: The government is working with different TV channels to broadcast content, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, with different grade levels at different hours. They are also developing 640 programs that will be distributed through 18 radio stations across the country.
UK:
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ECONOMIC RECOVERY
New Thinking on Covid Lockdowns: They’re Overly Blunt and Costly: Great piece from the great Greg Ip:
- "Five months later, the evidence suggests lockdowns were an overly blunt and economically costly tool. They are politically difficult to keep in place for long enough to stamp out the virus. The evidence also points to alternative strategies that could slow the spread of the epidemic at much less cost. As cases flare up throughout the U.S., some experts are urging policy makers to pursue these more targeted restrictions and interventions rather than another crippling round of lockdowns."
- "Lockdowns weren’t part of the contemporary playbook, either. Canada’s pandemic guidelines concluded that restrictions on movement were “impractical, if not impossible.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its 2017 community mitigation guidelines for pandemic flu, didn’t recommend stay-at-home orders or closing nonessential businesses even for a flu as severe as the one a century ago."
- "The experience of the past five months suggests the need for an alternative: Rather than lockdowns, using only those measures proven to maximize lives saved while minimizing economic and social disruption. “Emphasize the reopening of the highest economic benefit, lowest risk endeavors,” said Dr. Mina."
- If schools don’t reopen until next January, McKinsey & Co. estimates, low-income children will have lost a year of education, which it says translates into 4% lower lifetime earnings.
- "Dr. Mina’s and Mr. Stock’s team has designed a “smart” reopening plan based on contact frequency and vulnerability of five demographic groups and 66 economic sectors. It assumes most businesses reopen using industry guidelines on physical distancing, hygiene and working from home; schools reopen; masks are required; and churches, indoor sports venues and bars stay closed."
Volatility: In schedules and incomes are a growing challenge for many workers.
Child Allowance: A long piece exploring how to counter child poverty during COVID. The author suggests an annual payment of $3,000 per child would lift at least 38 times as many children out of poverty than an increased ($10.25 an hour) minimum wage.
COVID is Dividing the American Worker: Economists say the resulting ‘K’ shaped recovery will be good for professionals—and bad for everyone else. "The pandemic has moved up the adoption of certain technologies by years, especially those supporting automation and remote work. In the short term, this means profound disruption—job loss and the need to move to new roles—for many Americans who have the least wherewithal to cope. In the long term, experts say it may exacerbate trends that U.S. policy makers of every political persuasion have failed to fix for decades."
Masks Are Good for the Economy: Calculations from Goldman Sachs suggest that a 15 percentage-point rise in the share of the population that wears masks would reduce the daily growth of cases by about one percentage point. The Economist took those calculations a step further and estimated that "an American wearing a mask for a day is helping prevent a fall in GDP of $56.14. Not bad for something that you can buy for about 50 cents apiece."
LEARNING PODS
Learning Loft: A Hillsborough County Public Schools teacher took a leave of absence due to caring for her 72 year old mother. She leased space to create “Lee’s Learning Loft” for her 10-year-old daughter and 16 other students between 2nd and 8th grade who enrolled in the district's online program. In addition to providing child care and meals in a socially distanced setting, Lee said her goals are to ensure students complete all of their assignments and to help families navigate the district’s new virtual learning platforms, Canvas and Achieve 3000. An anonymous donor is helping three families attend.
Mom Talk: A post from the Bush Center describing how a group of staff, friends, some former educators began connecting with one another to share ideas, discuss stress points, and provide encouragement.
Michigan Pods: When a family learned that Ann Arbor Public Schools would start the year remote learning, they hired a tutor to help their oldest daughter with in-person support as she enters advanced classes at Skyline High School; they enrolled their youngest at St. Thomas Catholic School for a quicker return to in-person classes, and they joined a Pod to help their middle child. The school district is also offering Connections+ learning groups that will allow students to meet in-person at neighborhood partners, such as community centers and apartment clubhouses. Other families used FamilyPodMatch.com to match with other families.
Money Magazine: Has a long article on pods. JPMorgan Chase is offering discounts on virtual tutors and learning pods for eligible employees through its employer-sponsored child care provider, Bright Horizons. One family said they're cutting cable, eating more meatless meals, driving less, and pausing clothes shopping.“Whatever we need to cut to make it work because we know if we don’t pay for this now, we’re going to have to pay for expensive tutors [later]."
Indiana Regulatory Flexibility: Gov. Holcomb issued an executive order authorizing groups, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA, to operate before- and after-school child care programs at locations other than school buildings.
Georgia: Kyle Wingfield on the state's use of CARES Act funding: "The remaining $22 million or so could be directed toward micro-grants for low-income families and/or children with special needs. Both groups are particularly harmed by remote learning. A $1,000 grant could support more than 20,000 students to get through the coming months, particularly if they form learning pods and pool their money for tutors or other adult supervision."
Learning Centers: A public charter school affiliated with Douglas County School District offers families an online-based education for students paired with a physical location to keep them focused during the day. There are 14 Learning Centers located across the metro area including the Action Learning Center in Aurora. The average class size is 16 and most centers have 75 enrolled on site. Since the Coronavirus outbreak, they’ve alternated cohorts with in-person and remote learning every two days.
School District Supporting Micro Schools: The Central Point School District surveyed its parents and found 40% were interested in participating in a micro school. They're now exploring how to support these parents, including a possible partnership with the YMCA.
Mentor Jr: Company founded by a 17 year old to help match mentors and tutors.
RESOURCES
30% of Parents Plan to Keep their Kids Home: According to a JAMA survey.
Private Schools: Juliet Squire with an EdNext piece exploring the impact of COVID on private schools.
Students Call for Colleges to Discount Cost When Opening Online: "When you take the experience out and go to all-remote learning, effectively what you have is a streaming video service that costs $58,000 a year,” NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway
A Flexible Teaching Model: A faculty member from the University of Hartford posted several helpful recommendations to assist teachers make the pivot to online teaching.
Another Great Thread With Ideas: How a University of Pennsylvania faculty member is preparing for online classes.
50CAN: Released two reports, both highly recommended:
SPN Poll: Parent perspectives:
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Where Americans Want a Vaccine to Go First: Axios survey. 44% say teachers and 28% say children under 17.
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Where Americans Want a Vaccine to Go First: Axios survey. 44% say teachers and 28% say children under 17.
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