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COVID-19 Policy Update
THURSDAY 8/27

TOP THREE

FDA: Authorized Abbott’s fast $5, 15 min COVID-19 test (FDA letter, Abbott press release) Abbott is also launching an app that syncs up with the tests. Those with a negative test will be able to display a “digital health pass” on their phone. They plan to ramp up to 50 million tests by October. Could be incredibly helpful for schools.

The State of Reopening: CRPE analysis (EdWeek). New analysis estimates that almost half of the nation's school districts will be returning to full in-person instruction. Students in rural communities are far more likely to have access to fully in-person instruction than suburban and city students. Students in the highest-poverty districts are the most likely to start the year in remote learning.

Gallup Survey: Public school enrollment dropped from 86% in 2019 to 76% in 2020 and homeschool enrollment doubled from 5% to 10%.

STATE

California: 62 Santa Clara County schools and districts have applied for waivers to bring elementary school students back into the classroom.

Maryland: The Governor has authorized all public schools in the state to begin “safely” reopening because state metrics on the coronavirus show improvements.

New Jersey:

The Department received 745 school district reopening plans. Of those, 105 plans are still under review and 389 have been “returned to districts for necessary revisions." List of districts requesting to open remote only.
The Freehold Regional High School District shifted to opening remote only after 250 educators requested a leave of absence or other workplace accommodation requests.

North Carolina: Guilford County Schools will operate two virtual schools: The Guilford eLearning Virtual Academy (K-5) and Guilford eLearning University Prep (6-8). Loved this idea: teachers are reaching out to families to poll them on what times work best for them for live instruction.

Ohio: The Governor announced that schools must create a mechanism for parents to report cases, like using an existing attendance call-in phone line. Then, within 48 hours of learning of a case in a student or staff member, the district must contact the local health department and make the information about a positive test publicly available, which could be done through issuing a press release or posting on the district’s website.

INTERNATIONAL

Europe Reopens: France’s prime minister promised to “do everything” to get people back to school and work. British Prime Minister Johnson called reopening schools a “moral duty,” and his government even threatened to fine parents who keep kids at home. Italy’s health minister abruptly shut down discos this month with one goal in mind — “to reopen schools in September in complete safety."

How Nations Are Going Back to School: Useful summary from the AP covering China, Japan, Africa, and other countries.

UNICEF: Released a global analysis of the reach of remote learning. They estimate that 30% of students around the world (463 million) were unable to gain access to remote learning. 40% of countries did not provide remote learning opportunities at the pre-primary level of education. Huge variances between counties.

UK: A YouGov survey shows support for the full-time reopening of schools in England and Wales has risen from 57% to 65% over the past three weeks.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Declining Food Spending:  New data shows Americans cutting back on grocery spending. The expiration of expanded UI is cited by economists as one of the reasons.

Record Back-to-School Spending:   Could be as high as $100 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. They also asked parents how their children would be returning to school: 27% in person, 35% hybrid, 28% online, and 20% unsure.

Two Black-led Banks Merge:  L.A.'s Broadway Federal Bank and Washington's City First Bank announced they will create the nation’s largest Black-controlled bank with $1 billion in assets.

RESOURCES

WHO: Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the WHO said that schools had not been a “main contributor” to the pandemic.

IHME’s COVID-19 Forecasts: Indicate that the US will reach nearly 310,000 deaths by December 1, 2020. If mask wearing in public increases to 95%, more than 69,000 lives could be saved.

NYT/Morning Consult Poll: Surveying parent attitudes toward reopening. All 200 pages of data and crosstabs.

Regardless of whether your child( ren) will return to school in-person or virtually how concerned are you about their...

Mental health: 76% concerned / 23% not concerned
Academic progress: 80% concerned / 20% not concerned
The time they spend on screens, like TVs or computers: 74% concerned / 26% not concerned
Access to regular meals: 40% concerned / 60% not concerned

To the best of your knowledge, how will your child or children be learning during the fall 2020-2021 school year?

My child will be learning virtually with their school: 34%
My child will be learning in-person with their school 16%
My child will be learning with their school through a mix of virtual and in-person learning: 21%
My child will be homeschooled: 15% (interestingly, Democratic women were more likely to say this 22% vs Republican women 13%)
I am not sure if my child's school will be virtual, in-person: 9 %

Have you considered...

Hiring a tutor or teacher to work with your child or a small group of children if schools are closed during the next school year? 22% yes / 78% no
Moving to a different district or enrolling in private school because of reopening plans or school schedules? 12% yes / 88% no

NSVF/Gallup Poll: Examines parent, teacher, and student perspectives on education technology and distance learning.

Learning Policy Institute: Released two reports:

Maine Sleepaway Camps Offer Roadmap for Reopening Schools: Four camps served 1,000 children without any transmission. Maine conducted virus testing before and after campers arrived and made them quarantine. Campers and counselors were kept in the same groups while at the camp. Face masks and physical distancing were employed, extensive cleaning and disinfection were frequent, and activities were conducted outdoors as much as possible. Study here.

Disrupted Schooling Will Deepen Inequality:  Article from the Economist that ends with "Without extraordinary interventions, the long-run effect of the pandemic on these students is predictable. The only question is how deep the damage will be."

Juni Learning:  Raised $10.5 million in Series A funding. They provide live online courses and tutoring in Computer Science, Mathematics, and English courses for students 8-18

Back to School:  Photos capturing how unusual back to school is this year.

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