November 12, 2020
With a quarter of the 2020–21 school year complete, many school districts remain closed to in-person learning. Millions of American children have not been in a classroom since spring. According to FREOPP’s October review, 50 of the nation’s 120 largest school districts were closed to in-person learning for most students. At the time, at least eight school districts had no timeline for reopening and several large districts have announced that schools will remain closed through December.
But many school districts have restarted in-person learning and have not experienced widespread COVID-19 outbreaks. Public health experts are increasingly recommending that schools safely reopen, particularly those serving younger children.
Congress continues to discuss a next COVID-19 emergency spending package. This week, the Biden campaign released a plan to support reopening schools, including to “get the virus under control,” “provide emergency funding for public schools and child care centers,” and task the Department of Education to develop best practices for remote learning during the pandemic. Meanwhile, school districts across the country that remain closed to in-person learning continue to deliberate about plans for reopening.
To inform these decisions and future federal education emergency aid, Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight and present facts to the public. The following are ten questions that Congress must investigate.
How does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assess the public health risks of reopening schools based on the currently available data, including from schools and child care centers that have reopened or have remained open since spring?
On October 29th, the CDC updated its guidance for operating schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the CDC assessed that the risk to children was low based on available data from March through July :
“Analysis of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization data from 14 states from early March to late July 2020 found the cumulative rate of COVID-19–associated hospitalization among children was over 20 times lower compared to adults (8.0 versus 164.5 per 100,000 population) (8). Although the cumulative rate is low, one in three children hospitalized with COVID-19 was admitted to an intensive care unit so the risk is not negligible. Similarly, the death rate among school-aged children is much lower than the rate among adults”
Congress should require the CDC to conduct a timely analysis of currently available data from all school districts to assess the current public health risk of reopening schools.
What is the currently-available scientific evidence about the spread of COVID-19 in enclosed facilities and recommended remediation and prevention measures, including sanitation, hygiene, and improving volition? To what extent have public school districts that have reopened followed this guidance?
The CDC has issued guidance to inform how schools can safely reopen. However, in September, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that “portions of CDC’s guidance on reopening K-12 schools are inconsistent, and some federal guidance appears misaligned with CDC’s risk-based approach on school operating status.”
The CDC and other federal science authorities, including the national laboratories, should provide Congress and the public the currently-available information about how COVID-19 spreads and what precautions should be taken such as modernizing ventilation systems, using protective equipment, and hygiene and sanitation measures to reduce the risk of exposure and virus spread. In addition, Congress and the Government Accountability Office should study how and whether school districts have used these and other tactics to protect public health. Examining and identifying best practices will help currently closed school districts understand what actions must be taken to safely reopen.
How have states used CARES Act funding to support school reopenings or to support distance learning or students’ outside of school learning needs? How much funding remains available? Does the CDC and/or Department of Education have recommendations for how states and local education agencies should spend currently available funding to support safe reopenings?
Through the CARES Act, Congress authorized $31 billion for an emergency education stabilization fund. Approximately $17 billion of this was focused on elementary and secondary education. According to a September GAO report, states, localities, territories and tribes had spent just $907 million of those funds, as of July 31st.
Congress should direct the Government Accountability Office or the Department of Education Inspector General to update and detail how this CARES Act funding has been used and what funding remains available. Understanding how these funds have been spent, including by school districts that remain open, would support the nationwide effort to safely reopen schools. Moreover, Congress should question the CDC and the Department of Education to determine if these agencies have new guidance for how CARES Act funding should be used to support reopening or continuing students’ learning while schools are operating remotely.
How has access to high-speed internet and technology at home affected students’ learning while schools have been closed to in-person learning? What steps have states and local education agencies to close the digital divide and improve access to technology to support remote learning?
The National Center for Education Statistics has reported that children from lower-income households are less likely to have a computer or use the internet at home. For student assigned to schools that are not offering in-person learning, access to technology and internet access is critical to even participate in remote learning. According to survey data analyzed by RAND researchers, “Only 30 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools reported that all or nearly all of their students had access to the internet at home, compared with 83 percent of teachers in low-poverty schools.” Boston Consulting Group estimated that at least 15 million children “lack adequate internet or devices to sustain effective distance learning at home.” Moreover, more than 1 in 3 children living in rural areas lacked adequate internet access.
States and local education agencies could use federal CARES Act funding to close the digital divide and address remote learning technology needs. According to the Congressional Research Service, allowed uses of CARES Act funding include: “purchasing education technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between classroom instructors and students, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.”
Congress should review to what extent states and school districts have used available funding to provide technology and internet access to students who are not able to attend in-person school. Moreover, Congress should require GAO to evaluate what percentage of students by state or school district have not had adequate access to technology during pandemic-related school closure. GAO could also identify best practices among states and school districts to close the digital divide during the pandemic.
How many students are no longer enrolled or attending public schools nationwide?
Researchers have warned that prolonged school closures are leading to significant learning losses for American children, particularly those from low-income households. McKinsey projected that low-income children will lose more than a year’s worth of learning if school closures and part-time schedules continue through the fall of 2020.
National, state, and local education authorities, as well as teachers, parents, and students themselves, will be working to address potential learning losses long after the pandemic is over. While all students’ progress and potential need for remediation must be considered, policymakers should prioritize assistance for children most at-risk. The highest risk group may be the population of students who have dropped out of school or otherwise stopped attending classes while schools are closed.
Bellwether Education Partners, an education-focused non-profit, recently estimated more than 3 million students have had “minimal or no education” since March. This is based on an analysis of the attendance rates of the most marginalized students during the pandemic, including foster children, students experiencing homelessness, students with disabilities, English learners, and students eligible for the Migrant Education Program.
Congress should require the Department of Education to report estimates of school attendance rates during the pandemic, including the number of children who have been connected with or enrolled in school since the spring.
To what extent are states and local education agencies complying with the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities have a right to a free and appropriate public education. Congress explained in law that this right is “an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.”
While remote instruction is difficult for many students, students with disabilities face acute challenges. The learning loss expected to affect most students will affect students with disabilities, some of whom may also experience setbacks in other key skills. Some school districts have prioritized bringing students with disabilities back into in-person classes to receive special education services during the pandemic. But many special education students remain at home, lacking in-person instruction. For example, in Seattle, only one special education student was receiving in-person instruction as of late October.
Congress should investigate if states and local education agencies are complying with IDEA while schools are remote. In addition, Congress should review whether states and/or school districts are using CARES Act funding to provide resources directly to the parents and guardians of special education students to access tutoring or other services while schools are closed to in-person learning.
How have pandemic-related school closures affected foster children, including the risk of becoming a victim of sex and human trafficking?
Foster children are among the most vulnerable children in the United States. Research evidence shows that foster children are at a higher-risk of a range of negative educational and life outcomes, in part due to instability limiting their educational opportunities. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires states and local education agencies to “take steps to minimize school placement changes” and “to improve academic outcomes for students in foster care.”
Prolonged school closures could be causing foster children to become disconnected from school and other support services. Given the particular challenges that older foster youth face aging out of the child welfare system, the COVID-19 pandemic, including prolonged school closures, is likely exacerbating risks for successful transitions to independence. For example, foster children are at a greater risk of becoming the victim of sex or human trafficking. Congress should conduct oversight to understand how the pandemic and related school closures are affecting foster children and evaluate actions taken by states and state child welfare agencies to address these risks.
What services are states and local education agencies providing to other at-risk student populations (including children experiencing homelessness and English language learners) while schools are closed to in-person learning?
Federal law also requires states and local education agencies to provide appropriate educational services to other at-risk populations of children. For example, public schools nationwide serve more than 1 million children who experience homelessness each year. The McKinney-Vento Act requires that states must ensure equal access to education and have a plan for helping these children overcome barriers to attending school. There are nearly 5 million English learners, and federal law and funding is aimed to encourage English language acquisition. How and to what extent are states and school districts working to teach and support these children when school are operating remotely?
How have prolonged school closures affected incidents of child abuse, neglect, and suicide?
Child welfare advocates have warned that prolonged school closures increase child abuse, since teachers often spot and report when children are being victimized. The lack of reporting combined with the increased time kids are spending at home means that many are likely suffering abuse or neglect in silence. For example, California data show that child abuse reports are down 28 percent lower than last year. The National Sexual Assault Hotline has received a record number of contacts and half are from minors. The CDC has reported that more Americans, particularly young adults, are considering suicide during the pandemic.
Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Congress provides funding to support state and local efforts to protect child welfare. CAPTA also established a national clearinghouse on abuse and neglect. In 2020 and 2021, the Department and Health and Human Services should be providing regular updates about known and unknown trends and data of incidents of abuse or neglect. Congress should be requesting that information regularly and sharing it with the public to help Americans understand how school closures are affecting child welfare and actions communities can take to protect children.
What is the current operating status of federally-supported preschool and child care programs, including Head Start centers? What is happening to unspent funding awarded to those centers that have not reopened to in-person child care?
School and child care center closures are creating significant challenges for parents, particularly working mothers who often must choose between employment and taking care of their children. The Census Bureau recently reported that 25 percent of parents (ages 25 to 44) were not working because of childcare challenges caused by the pandemic. Women were nearly three times more likely than men to be out of work to provide childcare.
The federal government promotes access to child care, including through the federal Head Start program. Congress spends approximately $10 billion on the Head Start, which provides preschool and child care to young children and other services to their parents. Head Start serves about 1 million children.
It is unclear how many Head Start centers have remained open during the pandemic. Congress should conduct oversight to document which Head Start centers have provided in-person child care during the pandemic. Congress should also review how funds have been used by Head Start centers that have not provided in-person child care services.
Conclusion
In July, FREOPP provided recommendations for safely reopening American schools and continuing education for students who must remain home due to health concerns during the pandemic. At the time, we wrote: “While the risks of COVID-19 in children are low and manageable, the harms of prolonged school closures are high.” We pointed to the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which warned:
“Lengthy time away from school and associated interruption of supportive services often results in social isolation, making it difficult for schools to identify and address important learning deficits as well as child and adolescent physical or sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicidal ideation. This, in turn, places children and adolescents at considerable risk of morbidity and, in some cases, mortality.”
Experience from across the United States suggests that schools and child care can reopen safely without jeopardizing public health. Evidence is also mounting that prolonged school closures are harming a generation of children. Congress has a responsibility to investigate and inform the American people.
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