COVID-19 Policy Update #110
COVID-19 Policy Update
TUESDAY 9/22
TOP THREE
What We Know About Coronavirus Cases in K-12 Schools So Far: Excellent NYT piece outlining the limited state data collection on COVID cases in schools which has hampered the ability to know if school reopening is contributing to any significant spread.
"Only 12 states are providing some public information at the district or school level."
"Without knowing what local health authorities have found through contact tracing, we cannot know if students or school employees who have tested positive were actually infected in school or outside of it."
As Schools Go Remote, Finding ‘Lost’ Students Gets Harder: Several of our Updates have mentioned the significant number of students failing to log onto district remote learning platforms. The NYT does a deeper dive into the issue:
"In one survey of 5,659 educators around the country, 34 percent of respondents said that no more than one in four students were attending their remote classes, and a majority said fewer than half their students were attending."
"In Washington, D.C., public schools this fall will send “We Miss You” postcards to students who skip virtual class and call not just parents but other relatives and emergency contacts to track them down. In California, a law passed in June requires school districts to develop “re-engagement strategies” for students who go missing from distance learning. And in Mississippi, schools will dispatch attendance officers to the homes of students who don’t show up for online instruction."
A COVID-19 Vaccine for Children May Not Arrive Before Fall 2021: A number of vaccines for adults are already in advanced clinical trials. but no trials have yet begun in the United States to determine whether these vaccines are safe and effective for children. “Right now I’m pretty worried that we won’t have a vaccine available for kids by the start of next school year,” said Dr. Evan Anderson, a pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine."
FEDERAL
Phase 4:
The White House urged Congress to pass separate aid bill for airlines. Major U.S. airlines say they need $25 billion to help avert thousands of employee furloughs set to begin Oct. 1.
Fed Chair Powell and Secretary Mnuchin both told a House of Representatives Financial Services Committee that additional support for small businesses was needed. Reuters reported that the fate of small businesses, the main driver of U.S. employment but also one that is vulnerable to cash flow disruptions and short of credit, is key to shaping how fast and broad the recovery will be. Powell said the economy will eventually feel the negative effects of previous economic measures expiring. He said the recovery "will go faster if it's all government working together".
CR: House Democrats have reached a deal with the Trump administration on a CR to fund the government through December 11. The CR:
Provides $30 billion in aid for farmers
Extends the Pandemic EBT program through the end of the 2021 fiscal year and covers schools that have reduced their hours (not just those that are closed for 5 days). Eligible children in child care centers are also covered under similar situations (i.e. reduced hours/facility closure).
Extends the child nutrition and WIC waivers originally passed as part of the Families First Act earlier this year through the end of the 2021 fiscal year.
GAO: Released a report that found the "lack of cogent, clear, and consistent federal guidance on the operating status of K-12 schools as an area of concern." It also found 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." One example was guidance issued in July that did not recommend universal symptom screenings for students, but an earlier, contradictory planning tool that recommended daily health checks, like temperature screenings, remained on the website even after the newer directive was posted.
CDC: Only a few days after the CDC updated its guidance to account for the aerosolization of viral particles, the agency removed those changes, saying “an early draft of a revision went up without any technical review.”
TikTok: Over the weekend, President Trump said that the TikTok deal with ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart would include a $5 billion education initiative. He later said it would go to his "patriotic education initiative." The only problem is that ByteDance said they aren't aware of any such agreement.
STATE
California: New parent group demands that San Diego Unified set a reopening timeline.
Florida: The state is giving $2 million to 18 rural school districts to increase telehealth and mental health services for public school students. Mary Mayhew, secretary for the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration, said the use of telehealth is up 300 percent since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Illinois: Some special ed students could return to schools for in-person services under CPS proposal.
Louisiana: Distance learning challenging as students try to start school after the recent hurricane.
Maryland: The Department of Education announced $10 million in funding to help schools reopen. Each school district will be able to get a $200,000 base as well as a per-student allocation on top.
Pennsylvania: Launches COVID Alert PA app based on Apple-Google tech.
Utah: Just over half of Utahns — 51%— think it is safe for children to return to school, according to a new Deseret News/University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.
Washington: Jeff Bezos to open first nonprofit preschool in Washington as part of $2 billion Day One Fund
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Less than a day before the first day of virtual school is supposed to begin at the Toronto District School Board, teachers and families are concerned about the lack of communication, information, and guidance from the board.
UK: Universities predict record student dropout rate.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Workforce Partnership: New partnership between Noodle and Strategic Education. Using WorkforceEdge, employees can connect to online undergraduate and graduate programs in Noodle’s network of public and private universities, and the programs within Strategic Education’s portfolio, including Strayer University and Capella University.
COVID Upends Middle-Class Family Finances: Via WSJ:
"American families with non housing debt making over $98,018 a year in pre-tax income owed an average of nearly $92,000 of such debt in 2016. That’s up 32% from 2004, adjusted for inflation, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit research group."
"Postings for jobs with salaries over $100,000 were down 19% in August from April, while postings for all other salary categories increased, according to job-search site ZipRecruiter Inc."
Future of the Middle Class: New Brookings book by Richard Reeves and Isabel V. Sawhill (PDF). Recommendations include:
Eliminate virtually all of the income taxes paid by the middle class.
Instead tax the three C’s: carbon, consumption, and capital.
Raise the minimum wage and subsidize wages below the median with a worker tax credit.
Offer scholarships for service: two years of tuition-free college or training at any public institution for those who undertake at least a year of national service.
Ensure four weeks of paid leave per year (for any purpose) for all workers.
Introduce a national tax on sugary drinks to prevent obesity and improve health
Align school and working hours and boost child care to help working parents.
LEARNING PODS
Oregon Pods: "Heisen is paying nearly $700 a month for her daughter to receive assistance with 4J's [a district in Oregon] remote learning curriculum through a local program."
Newark Charter School Offers Free Learning Pods: Brick Education Network - which operates four charter schools in Newark – has launched pods that can accommodate up to 12 socially distanced students, giving them a safe place to learn and play while their parents are on the job.
RESOURCES
IHME's Update: From last week. Two maps: estimated percent infected with COVID and estimated percent of population reporting they wear a mask.
COVAX: 156 economies, representing nearly two-thirds of the global population, are now committed to or eligible to receive vaccines through COVAX.
Vaccine Costs: Industry says $6 to $18 per dose is a reasonable price for COVID-19 vaccine, Sue Middleton, President of the Executive Board of Vaccines Europe told a hearing in the EU Parliament.
Vaccine Testing: Some are arguing that COVID-19 vaccines tests should accelerate the inclusion of diverse groups.
Vaccine Skepticism: Axios-Ipsos poll showing that the share of Americans who say they'll try a first-generation coronavirus vaccine is plummeting. 60% say it is not very, or not at all, likely they would get the first generation vaccine.
Two other education findings from the survey:
Among parents who have a child in school, either in person or virtually, one in three (34%) say there has been a coronavirus scare or outbreak in their child’s school district since the year started, up from 22% last week.
Two-thirds of parents (64%) are sending their child to school through virtual or distance learning. This number has steadily climbed since August
Study Finds That Children's Immune Response Protects Against COVID-19: New study contributes to understanding as to why children usually have milder disease than adults. The research suggests that young people's more robust innate response protects them from developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)—the hallmark of severe and often fatal COVID-19 cases.
CATO: New report exploring education challenges during COVID and offers several policy recommendations:
Enact universal education savings accounts;
Allow any students who so desire to enroll in virtual charter schools up to a school’s capacity to serve them, and allow their public education dollars to follow them to such schools; and
Let schools and districts determine whether students are receiving sufficient education rather than prescribing such measures as “seat time” for all schools.
Archie Williams: Wrongly incarcerated singer on America's Got Talent.