TOP THREE
Charter School Growth: Charters experienced more growth in 2020-21 than they’ve seen in the past six years. (Read the report / Axios here)
"In contrast to traditional public schools, which saw a significant, 1.4 million drop in student enrollment during the tumultuous year, charter schools in 39 states saw an influx of 240,000 new students — a 7% increase over last year."
Controversy and Consensus: Perspectives on Race, Religion, and COVID-19 in Public Schools: New survey from AEI with a bunch of timely, useful data. A few COVID nuggets:
63% of the public say schools should require universal masking—that is, masks for all students, teachers, and staff regardless of their vaccination status.
Compared to routine childhood illness vaccination requirements, support for COVID-19 vaccination requirements in schools is markedly lower. More than six in 10 (61%) Americans favor requiring all public school students age 12 and up to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before they can attend school in person. 38% of the public oppose COVID-19 vaccination requirements for eligible students.
Teens Survey: Some important insights from this EdChoice/Morning Consult survey of teens
FEDERAL
IES:
Is conducting a nationwide survey of 1,200 schools to further gauge the impact of COVID-19 on students and teachers.
Infrastructure: Rep. Jayapal says she has the votes to block the bipartisan infrastructure bill Monday because the reconciliation bill is nowhere close to being finished, Punchbowl reports.
Reconciliation:
"John Podesta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and an influential figure among Democrats in Washington, called on lawmakers in his party on Wednesday to pare back a proposed $3.5 trillion social policy plan that carries much of President Biden’s domestic agenda,” the New York Times reports.
CR: The House passed a short-term funding bill last evening - straight party line vote 220 Democrats yeas, 211 Republicans nays - that would keep federal agencies open until Dec. 3 while also raising the debt limit through December 2022. The package is unlikely to pass the Senate. Punchbowl outlines some of the possible options.
DOL: Appoints 29 members to the newly reinstated Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Children and COVID-19: State Data Report
Where Are the Tests? "Other countries are awash in Covid tests. The U.S. is not." Another great column from the NYT's David Leonhardt
"Other experts are also criticizing the Biden administration for its failure to expand rapid testing. Even as President Biden has followed a Covid policy much better aligned with scientific evidence than Donald Trump’s, Biden has not broken through some of the bureaucratic rigidity that has hampered the U.S. virus response."
"In the case of rapid tests, the F.D.A. has loosened its rules somewhat over the past year, allowing the sale of some antigen tests (which often cost about $12 each). But drugstores, Amazon and other sellers have now largely run out of them. I tried to buy rapid tests this weekend and couldn’t find any."
"The F.D.A.’s process for approving rapid tests is “onerous” and “inappropriate,” Daniel Oran and Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research wrote in Stat News."
"For the most part, the F.D.A. still uses the same cumbersome process for approving Covid tests that it uses for high-tech medical devices. To survive that process, the rapid tests must demonstrate that they are nearly as sensitive as P.C.R. tests, which they are not."
Test Sensitivity is Secondary to Frequency and Turnaround Time for COVID-19 Screening: New study
"Our results lead us to conclude that repeated population screening of asymptomatic individuals can be used to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2."
"The difference between clinical and screening tests highlights the need for additional tests to be approved and used for screening. These tests should not be held to the same degree of sensitivity as clinical tests, particularly if doing so encumbers rapid deployment of faster cheaper SARS-CoV-2 assays. We suggest that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other agencies, or state governments encourage the development and use of alternative faster and lower-cost tests for public health and repeated population screening purposes, even if they have poorer LODs."
"Our modeling suggests that some types of repeated population screening will subject some individuals to unnecessary quarantine days."
Biden Bets on Rapid COVID Tests But They Can be Hard to Find: Via the AP.
"Biden highlighted rapid tests, saying the government would purchase 280 million of them, as he also called on all schools to set up regular testing programs. Biden said the federal government will use the Defense Production Act to ensure manufacturers have the raw materials they need to make tests. If those plans sound familiar, it’s because they were part of Biden’s original strategy for dealing with COVID-19 released in January."
"A recent survey of 100 large districts found fewer than 15% required any testing for students. That’s despite $10 billion in federal funds made available last spring to set up testing programs."
Manufacturers Warn COVID Rapid Test Shortages Are Coming: Via Axios.
Vaccines Work: Stewie and Brian travel inside Peter’s body to explain how vaccines work.
STATE
Florida: Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, issued a new emergency rule Wednesday that states parents must be the ones to decide whether their asymptomatic children need to quarantine if they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ohio: Ohio National Guard consulted about helping with COVID-19 related school busing issues.
Oregon: ‘Upset and frustrated:’ Parents navigate COVID quarantines
"Frustrated and wanting her kids to return to school, Padfield and her husband looked to guidelines on quarantines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC website, local health departments have an option to end quarantines after seven days from the date of exposure coupled with a negative test result on day five."
"Padfield emailed Clackamas County Public Health to see if that was an option. In the meantime, Padfield had her children tested and both received negative results.
"But county officials didn’t budge."
Tennessee: TN SCORE poll suggests most parents are upbeat about school this year.
77% of parents surveyed were positive about how the 2021-22 school year was going for their child.
Almost five out of ten parents (45%) say they think their own children have fallen behind academically, with slightly more than half of suburban parents (53%) and parents of high schoolers (51%) voicing that concern about their child.
Texas: ED announced an inquiry days after the Texas Education Agency quietly updated its guidance to say school districts can’t require masks.
INTERNATIONAL
Ireland: Confusion over whether children with runny noses should go to school.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
College Financial Aid: JPMorgan Chase is buying college financial aid platform Frank.
Now It's a Depression: Wine production across Europe is estimated to plummet 18% this year.
RESOURCES
From Paying Parents to Transport Their Kids to School to Calling Out the National Guard — Innovating in the Face of a Bus Driver Shortage: Good piece via Chad Aldeman and Marguerite Roza.
Sidenote: Arizona has also been ahead of the curve on this issue - going as far as holding a grant competition to experiment with solutions.
I Missed September 21: My friend Ed Walsh sent this video reminder last night.
This version is better.
And here's a preview of Derrell Bradford's dance routine for the PIE Net conference next month.