Last fall, the Center on Reinventing Public Education found that almost all of America鈥檚 100 large and urban districts planned to prioritize at least one learning acceleration strategy, but only 20% intended to offer a comprehensive suite of approaches to help students catch up.

Our new review of spending plans reveals about 1 in 3 large U.S. districts (34) plan to incorporate all four evidence-based learning acceleration strategies 鈥� tutoring supports, extended learning opportunities, small-group instruction and use of data 鈥� a sign that more students may be poised to receive such help.

We do not know how successfully districts are implementing these plans, however. While most districts signaled that they鈥檙e also assessing students鈥� academic progress and/or their emotional needs, only a fraction publicized the results, according to our review. It鈥檚 also unclear how or whether districts plan to measure the effectiveness of the strategies to address learning loss that they plan to carry out.

The majority of districts plan for some form of learning acceleration, primarily through extended learning and tutoring 

This latest analysis comes from our larger review of districts鈥� federally mandated spending plans for their COVID relief money. We also reviewed data from other public sources, including districts’ proposed annual budgets and recovery strategies they reported for 2021-22. Districts may continue these efforts through 2024, the deadline to spend the federal funds.

Nearly 8 in 10 large and urban school districts (78) said they planned to offer tutoring during 2021-22 鈥� 16 more than the year before. Of these, 27 offered tutoring to all students and 35 targeted specific subgroups. in North Carolina, for example, used an algorithm to identify students in most need of tutoring. Other districts, like in Delaware, described populations they would prioritize, such as newcomers, long-term English learners, migratory students and children with disabilities.

A slightly larger share of districts (83) shared plans for extended school services, including lengthening the school day (6) or offering summer programs (29). But most districts (48) opted to offer a combination of extended learning opportunities.

Roughly one-fifth of districts (22) offered these learning services to all students, but slightly more (27) prioritized tutoring for subgroups, such as elementary students and English learners.

About 1 in 3 large U.S. districts said they鈥檇 offer small-group instruction (60) or use data to diagnose student needs (64). 

The number of districts that signaled they鈥檇 employ all four learning acceleration strategies increased overall. During our initial review, just over one-fifth incorporated every acceleration strategy in their recovery plans. The latest review shows about 1 in 3 large districts (34) intend to do this now.

While most districts had a plan to assess student progress in fall 2021, few provided details on how this data would be used moving forward

According to our analysis, 70 districts shared evidence of assessing students鈥� academic or social needs in fall 2021. Of these, most prioritized academic assessments, but a handful also gauged students鈥� well-being. 

Only a fraction of these districts (18 of 70) shared the results publicly, however.

Roughly a quarter of districts (26) described how they would use data from these assessments, typically stating it would be analyzed to identify students in need of academic support. California’s school district, for example, employed i-Ready assessment data to identify students to receive tutoring support. 

About one-third of districts (35) said they鈥檙e adopting new assessment systems or data priorities. Long Beach Unified also developed a for a new assessment platform, progress monitoring tools and the use of comparative data to analyze student growth and acceleration. 

In its , the School District of Philadelphia outlined new plans to prioritize student well-being. Beginning in fall 2021, it implemented a social-emotional behavior screener to identify students in need of additional help. The application also stated plans to install a multi-tiered system of support in all schools this fall. While these examples highlight ways some districts are thinking about monitoring students鈥� academic and social-emotional statuses, the vast majority are not taking similar initiative.

It鈥檚 not too late to prioritize data collection efforts

While more districts have communicated their learning acceleration plans since 2020-21, it鈥檚 unclear how many have actually put them in motion and will continue them this year and next. A forthcoming study by CRPE, conducted as part of the , suggests that efforts have been slowed by staff and student absences.

It鈥檚 also unclear how many districts plan to monitor student progress or assess the effectiveness of these new strategies. Student progress data is not widely released to the public, as evidenced by the fact that less than 1 in 5 districts shared data on how students were faring in fall 2021. 

In a separate we conducted recently of spending plans for districts in New England, only 0.4% of relief funds were planned for data investments. Similarly, a FutureEd of spending plans found few districts planned to invest in student information systems. Overall, most districts don鈥檛 appear to be keeping data and progress monitoring top of mind. This isn鈥檛 to say that investments in learning acceleration are not well spent, but these efforts are less meaningful if school systems don鈥檛 have a plan to track how these strategies pay off in the long run.

Districts don鈥檛 have to be alone in organizing data collection efforts. States play a role in shaping how and what districts can do by requiring reports on important student metrics, such as assessment data, participation rates and chronic absenteeism levels. Connecticut has an that outlines 12 indicators to measure school and district success. approved the state鈥檚 waiver to report on some of these metrics in 2021, when it was difficult to collect accurate data during school closures, but it will be important to continue gathering more information on students鈥� progress now that schools are operating in a new type of normal. More states must support data collection efforts as the country enters a new phase of recovery for students. Meanwhile, districts need to be honest about their capacity to carry out 鈥� and measure 鈥� the results of their planned learning recovery strategies.

The analysis is based on CRPE鈥檚 year-long review of the districts鈥� federally mandated spending plans for the relief money, their proposed budgets and their publicly posted recovery spending strategies in 2021-22. The review is limited to publicly available information.

These strategies preview how the nation’s largest school districts are thinking about postpandemic recovery and what the return to a new normal is likely to entail. The release is part of CRPE鈥檚 new , which makes its two-plus years of pandemic-era district data tracking and analysis available to the public.

The work builds on CRPE鈥檚 new 鈥�State of the American Student鈥� report, which pushes states and districts to define measurable goals for pandemic recovery, or risk graduating a generation of students under-equipped for college or careers. The data is a call to action for districts and states to immediately use their federal dollars to ensure every student in the COVID generation makes a full recovery. 

Highlights from the review include: 

Large and urban districts almost universally prioritize facilities improvements, and most plan to invest in broad student and teacher supports 

Eight recovery strategies clearly stood out in district plans for ESSER spending. Almost all districts plan to upgrade facilities (95). Social-emotional supports are next most common (88), followed by technology (85), professional development (84), extended learning opportunities (83), mental health (79), tutoring (79) and internet connectivity and access (78). 

Districts plan to pursue some specific student-centered recovery strategies

A moderate number of districts detail specific strategies to accelerate student learning and well-being. Just two-thirds mention using evidence-based strategies involving data (64) or small-group interventions (60) to catch up students academically. Similarly, about two-thirds (60) are considering investments to strengthen career and postsecondary pathways. Around half of districts plan to re-engage students or work to increase enrollment (52), or invest in new testing systems (35) to better capture academic or social-emotional data.

But investments in staff and parents are less clear

While most districts plan to provide professional development for teachers, far fewer detail specific recruitment strategies like strengthening teacher pipeline programs or university partnerships (37) or providing more mentoring or coaching (26). Parent engagement was among the least frequently cited strategies, with a small portion of districts committing to improving communications with families (20) or providing new leadership opportunities to parents or community stakeholders (15).

District plans vary widely in detail shared and breadth of strategies

The clarity districts offer on their spending plans varies widely. Some began sharing recovery ideas and inviting stakeholders to participate in planning sessions as early as last spring. Others have not yet communicated full plans or invited public feedback.

A few districts, including Buffalo Public Schools in New York and the Montgomery County School District in Maryland, stand out for sharing detailed plans that profile a range of new supports for students, staff and parents. 

will provide an extended school day and school year; small-group instruction; and new programs for students who have special needs or are multilingual and/or Native American. The district will use data to diagnose student needs and hire new intervention staff. It plans to run an engagement program where parent leaders will support other families in their schools and attend monthly school-based management team meetings. The district will offer professional development on STEM, Advanced Placement and anti-racism instruction and plans to send staff to conferences and workshops. Buffalo also offers its staff members self-paced, virtual professional development.

will use data to select students for Saturday school, tutoring and enrichment programs. It is also expanding sports and after-school enrichment programs to re-engage students. Montgomery County plans to train staff in tutoring strategies, student well-being support and how to target assistance to vulnerable students, such as English learners and children with special needs. The district has also designed a professional learning cohort that specifically targets second-year teachers.

Recovery spending needs to happen in earnest, starting now

While the data on students鈥� remarkable learning loss and mental health needs piles up, the majority of districts have spent just a fraction of stimulus funds to date. This may have made good sense last school year; districts were caught up in a series of disruptions fueled by virus surges and labor shortages, and they needed time to ground their ESSER spending plans in stakeholder input and strategic plans. Fortunately, the start of the 2022-23 school year is proving to be the least disruptive since the pandemic started. Now is the time for districts to make good on their plans, and clearly communicate how they will restore and advance learning environments for students and work environments for adults. 

Our review finds that large and urban districts are committing most clearly to one-time investments in infrastructure but are less precise about recovery strategies to meet the postpandemic needs of students, staff and families. While stimulus funds are a one-time infusion, districts still have the opportunity to make deep, multi-year investments in services and programs that could better support staff and students. Improving learning and working conditions is just as important as facility or technology upgrades 鈥� arguably more so, given and enrollment declines of between 2020 and 2022. It is imperative that districts pair long-term investments in their people and systems alongside short-term investments in infrastructure.

It is also worth noting that plans are also just that 鈥� plans 鈥� until they are put into motion. Districts on the Education Department鈥檚 revised ESSER deadlines in order to execute spending strategies. Either way, given that stimulus funds expire as early as 2024, it is imperative that districts begin to thoughtfully spend them down now. And with , districts also need to clearly communicate their spending plans and reach back out to stakeholders for suggestions. 

Another third are continuing longstanding programs that had been in place before schools shuttered, and the remaining third are operating new virtual programs created during the pandemic, the review found.

The distinct approaches of America鈥檚 100 largest districts suggest that most are jettisoning remote learning entirely, or reverting back to programs that existed before the pandemic forced them to swiftly provide all families with some sort of online option.  

The discontinuation of virtual programs launched during COVID shutdowns could mean they weren鈥檛 as effective or popular as those already in place before the pandemic upended America鈥檚 education systems in early 2020.

CRPE, a nonprofit research center at Arizona State University, has monitored the learning options offered by the nation鈥檚 100 largest school systems since March 2020. In its review this month of districts鈥� learning plans for fall, CRPE found 35 indicating they planned to end remote learning entirely, 34 that would continue virtual programs established before the pandemic and 31 that would keep their new, pandemic-era online options.

For example, the , a virtual school in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, has operated since 2013. But the individual Clark County schools initiated last school year are being suspended; Nevada Learning Academy will be the only virtual option the district offers in 2022-23.

In Colorado, Aurora Public Schools plans to continue the virtual school it opened last year for K-8 students, but only for students in .

Fewer students in general are eligible to enroll in district-run virtual programs this year than last. In 2021-22, 56% of large and urban districts offered all students the ability to learn remotely. This year, that number dropped to 46%.

In Detroit, the district this year to try to improve attendance and reduce failure rates, according to Chalkbeat Detroit. Detroit Public Schools in 2021-22, intending to make it permanent, and had planned to spend $5 million on staffing. But it struggled with , and hiring challenges mounted. This year, the school is not accepting students in third through 12th grades who were chronically absent last year and failed one or more core academic classes. The school also did not accept children in kindergarten through second grade who were chronically absent last year, according to the . 

Other large districts have pivoted to expand virtual options 鈥� either because students were successful or parents wanted them, or both. Four of the 100 large districts we鈥檝e tracked have widened their virtual academies since the start of the pandemic. Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia, for example, recently expanded its full-time online learning option to K-3 students. But parent demand has been strong for Gwinnett County’s online program, which started in 1999. The district even extended the enrollment period for fall 2022 to accommodate the inquiries, according to documents we reviewed.

Last fall, when CRPE reviewed the learning models of large and urban school systems for the 2021-22 school year, 94 of the 100 large districts said they intended to offer remote learning. This year, they have understandably phased out many of these programs as more students return to full-time, in person classes.

What鈥檚 curious is that a majority of them are not keeping anything developed in the pandemic, when educators had to innovate quickly to reach all students. Some districts may be ending their programs because they have not matched the academic quality of in-person classes, or because interest dropped among families. But the window is closing for districts to continue pandemic-era innovations that created new options for families. While virtual schooling has become a permanent part of some districts鈥� repertoire, it鈥檚 unlikely to become a defining feature of urban public education in the years to come.

The , passed last summer, requires districts to engage communities in 鈥渕eaningful consultation鈥� on spending federal recovery dollars. But just over half the during the pandemic 鈥� 57% 鈥� have created strategies for doing that, our latest numbers show. 

These districts have used surveys, town halls and other platforms to broaden stakeholder voice and input. A minority have created new opportunities for parent-led leadership and for continuing technological tools like videoconferencing to keep families connected to the conversation.

Many parents have questioned the process for spending Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds 鈥� or don鈥檛 know that they can and should be involved. Last fall, just 21% of parents said their children鈥檚 schools had asked them to weigh in on how those funds should be used, according to a survey by the National Parents Union. Two months later, 39% of parents said they鈥檇 seen local ESSER resources used to address COVID-related challenges, according to another poll by the same national group.

Of the 100 districts in our database, 68 have publicly shared plans for spending their relief dollars, and 57 have created engagement strategies for soliciting community input, according to our analysis this spring. That鈥檚 an increase from 47 districts with engagement strategies in place last year at this time, according to a similar analysis we did last year.

Of those 57 districts, 29 designed at least two pathways for community feedback. adopted a social media and radio outreach strategy. , in Colorado, created an interactive online forum where stakeholders could voice spending priorities. 

What districts will do with this input is less clear. About half (51) describe how stakeholder input will inform decisionmaking, but most of the details are vague. One, in California, was clear in acknowledging that stakeholder input led to the hiring of additional social workers, intervention teachers, counselors and an English language development specialist, plus more tutoring for foster/homeless youth and more college and career experiences.

Just 30% of districts we tracked publicly reported what feedback they received on spending priorities. For example, employees in sought such as updated HVAC systems, newly painted buildings and flexible classroom seating, which prompted the district to push $17 million toward improvements to school buildings. in Nevada said the community wanted more support staff, which prompted the district to on licensing and hiring aspiring special education teachers.

Sixteen districts are using the new funds to create new long-term engagement strategies with families.

The Oakland Unified School District in California created a to advance Black student achievement. is providing up to 10 parents with the opportunity to engage in year-long projects to advance equitable teaching practices. in North Carolina changed the direction of a community schools reopening task force to address learning loss and help inform priorities for ESSER funding.

In response to community feedback, in Kentucky is developing three student learning centers to offer expanded extracurricular and art offerings, tutoring and afterschool interventions. in Maine plans to host 鈥淐offee With Constituents鈥� to hear input from families in the fall.

Since our summer 2021 analysis, some districts have invested in integrating parent and community perspective into new programs and policies. Many more have not, despite the vagueness of 鈥渕eaningful consultation鈥� in ESSER statutory language. According to the September 2021 poll conducted by the , only 46% of parents have heard about the funding that schools are receiving from the federal government and how that money can be used.

Though legal ramifications for not doing so are unlikely, districts should ensure their plans for spending federal relief money are clearly posted online and sent to families, and they should re-engage parents before the 2022-23 school year on their updated preferences, especially through the lens of the community鈥檚 most vulnerable student populations. 

With two years remaining to spend the federal funds, now is the moment to find the solutions that stakeholders desperately desire and districts desperately need. Using federal relief dollars to build bridges to new or disenfranchised communities 鈥� and to restore trust and build deeper engagement with families to bring them back to school 鈥� is just common sense.

This can be a than remediation, in which students work their way through material below their grade level in an effort to catch up. 

The Center on Reinventing Public Education’s review of pandemic responses in 100 large and urban districts finds nearly all of them are using some practices that are consistent with learning acceleration.

However, far fewer appear to have all the components of a comprehensive acceleration strategy. The most common strategies districts describe are tutoring and extended learning time, with resources given in broad strokes to grade-level groups instead of prioritized for specific students who may need targeted support to complete grade-level work.

And while districts are making academic support a focus this fall, questions of quality and sustainability still loom large. There remains little detail on new or comprehensive strategies to support special populations, or on whether extra time and resources are anchored in evidence-based approaches.

Most districts say they use at least one learning acceleration strategy this fall; fewer have all components

All but six of the districts we reviewed describe using at least one evidence-based strategy common to learning acceleration approaches, with about two-thirds of districts planning to offer tutoring or extended learning time. 

Just 21 districts, including Baltimore City Public Schools, say they offer all four strategies. It has released a comprehensive 鈥溾�� plan, which calls for all students to receive increased small-group instruction plus staff-led tutoring focused on critical literacy skills. 

The district also uses diagnostic assessments, educator referrals and early warning indicators like chronic absenteeism, suspensions and failing grades to identify students who missed essential learning during the pandemic and need additional help this year.The district provides these students with extended days and tutoring, and prioritizes those with missing course credits.

Baltimore City鈥檚 plan also requires teachers to develop learning plans for every student that incorporate academic, social and emotional needs and interests. This district is also thinking beyond recovery. Its plan envisions flexible scheduling for middle and high school students, such as evening classes, virtual courses and Saturday offerings to help school better fit their lives.

Twenty-seven districts prioritize tutoring and extended learning strategies for targeted student groups. Of these, a small number focus on students with demonstrated academic need (identified through low grades or missing credits), English learners or children with disabilities. Rather than targeting students based on academic needs, districts appear to be taking broader strokes, providing resources to all students or broad, grade-level groups.

Providing academic help to broad groups can reduce stigma. If every student in a grade level has access to tutoring or small-group instruction, no one will feel singled out for receiving extra support. But it also means the students hit hardest by the pandemic could miss out on critical help, unless districts do what Baltimore has done and layer targeted support on top of broad strategies aimed at all students.

Many districts turn to tutoring, but provide few details on quality 

Far more districts in our review are offering tutoring in 2021-22 (62 districts) than communicated interest in July (18 districts). The 62 districts that say they offer tutoring split nearly evenly between offering help to all interested students (24, or 39 percent of those offering tutoring) or just to targeted subgroups (22, or 35 percent). The other 16 districts do not provide information on which students will receive tutoring.

Only eight districts detail how many hours of tutoring students will receive, ranging from 1.5 to 4 per week. Similarly, few districts share how many students will receive tutoring, and in those that do, the numbers range widely 鈥� from 650 students in Boulder Valley, Colorado (2 percent of students) to over 7,000 in El Paso (13 percent). Texas districts must offer tutoring to all students under recently passed .

About half of these districts (33 of 62, or 53 percent) plan for district staff to support tutoring efforts, either alone or in combination with external tutors. Sixteen districts rely on partners like Americorps or community volunteers. and have contracted for online tutoring.

A few districts detail plans to equip tutors with evidence-based practices. , tutors are trained in a step-by-step curriculum that incorporates frequent tests to monitor student progress weekly throughout the school year. tours a high-dosage tutoring model that uses iReady to assess student growth and includes services for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.

Most districts鈥� tutoring plans are scarce on detail about quality or adherence to evidence-based practices. The wide variation in how much tutoring districts plan to deliver, to which students and with which groups of adults also means some districts鈥� initiatives will likely be more effective than others 鈥� a crucial issue for researchers and state agencies to monitor in the coming months. 

Districts offering students more time at school through extended learning programs 

Even more districts 鈥� 71 鈥� say they offer students extended learning time this year. Well over half of these (42) are incorporating multiple extended learning approaches.

Many districts launched extended-year programs this summer with larger and more rigorous summer school programs than in previous years.

This year, three districts lengthen the school day. has simply added 30 minutes to the daily schedule for elementary students. Other districts aim extended time supports to targeted students. offers 鈥渧acation academies鈥� for students selected using multiple factors like reading and math proficiency, attendance and amount of time spent learning in person versus remote. extended learning program supports English learners and newcomers in high school at risk of drop out, and works with outside partners. 

A few other districts use weekends and holidays. Saturday Learning Quest program provides 14 additional instructional days on Saturday, targeted to students in grades 1 to 3 in the lower quartile for math and literacy. The program offers social emotional learning and parent education, and it monitors students鈥� progress on both academics and well-being using NWEA surveys.

Districts must invest in staff and partners to ensure supports translate into student success

Details are getting clearer on how large and urban districts plan to address disruptions to learning and student well-being since March 2020. 

Many of these approaches ask school staff to lead new strategies 鈥� such as targeting teaching to specific students 鈥� or to incorporate standard best practices into their daily efforts, such as small-group instruction and use of data to determine what support each child needs. Some districts are leaning on community partners to provide more support than the district alone can provide.听

Very few districts, however, name students with disabilities or English learners as their priority for new targeted supports. That means these students, who were often overlooked or inadequately supported during remote learning, are still at risk of missing out on critical aid during pandemic recovery.

How effectively these strategies support learning and recovery for all students will depend on the quality of execution and coordination across schools and districts. Some districts allude to evidence-based practices, but generally it is not clear what methodology they are using to design programs and what supports they are providing adults to ensure consistent quality.

Teachers, paraeducators, counselors and mental health support staff need quality training and planning time to create the .

Federal emergency relief funds, which drive many of these learning acceleration investments, will dry up in a few years. Districts that invest in the quality and capacity of their staff to lead effective and more student-centered interventions will see lasting returns, but others risk squandering a critical opportunity.

Bree Dusseault is principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, supporting its analysis of district and charter responses to COVID-19. She previously served as executive director of Green Dot Public Schools Washington, executive director of pK-12 schools for Seattle Public Schools, a researcher at CRPE, and as a principal and teacher.

For better or worse, the flurry of new public health measures that marked the start of the 2021-22 school year has quieted.

States have largely stopped enacting vaccine mandates for teachers. Battles over masks have mostly shifted from the statehouse to the courthouse, with judges in Iowa, Oklahoma and South Carolina recently siding with school districts that defied state bans on mandates.

The critical task facing state policymakers now is adapting to a school year in which schools will need to minimize disruptions caused by quarantines. This may be more complex for school systems to manage than last year鈥檚 school closures, since the disruptions are occuring at the school or even classroom level.

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At a time when students are shifting in and out of isolation, and between in-person and virtual learning, states must help schools rethink how they track attendance and enrollment. Otherwise, they may struggle to accurately understand where students are, whether they are learning and how budgets might shift in the future.

But far too few states have equipped school systems to adapt to this year鈥檚 new reality. Specifically, most states have not clarified how districts should track attendance for students who have to quarantine. And they have been slowto help districts minimize quarantine-related disruptions while keeping students safe.

Attendance, Enrollment and School Closures

The pandemic obliterated some simple assumptions about how school was supposed to work. Before, students who showed up for class were marked present. Those who did not were marked absent.

But how should attendance policies apply when more students than ever before are learning at home due to quarantine? Is it fair to penalize students who have been asked to stay home because they were exposed to the virus and might be contagious? Many states are leaving school districts on their own to figure out answers to these questions.

Only 12 states have provided guidance on how to take attendance when students are in quarantine. Four of them direct districts to mark students absent. The other eight set standards for marking students present.

tells schools to mark quarantining students present if they鈥檝e engaged in four hours of instruction, including at least two hours of live teaching. that standardizes attendance rules for both in-person and virtual classes. It requires students to participate in classroom activities and have 鈥渟ubstantive interaction鈥� with a licensed teacher during the school day.

Nebraska released that will expire in July. It directs districts to support student learning during quarantine, and not to count students absent if they participate in school-sponsored instruction.

In California, defining absenteeism could have major consequences for school budgets, since state funding is tied to students鈥� .

Just eight states have provided explicit guidance on when schools should consider closing during the 2021-22 school year. Some states, like , offer vague guidance for districts to collaborate with local health authorities. , by contrast, sets specific definitions for what constitutes an outbreak and guidelines on how long schools should close.

Some states and districts are responding to a groundswell of frustration with the disruptions caused by quarantines by working to minimize them as much as possible. For example, Florida recently ordered that quarantines would be optional for students exposed to the virus. But it did not combine this step with measures designed to keep students safe while in school.

Our analysis of 100 large and urban districts finds school systems are increasingly using COVID-19 testing to ease quarantine requirements, but like Florida, most states are not providing them with guidance on how best to do this. Twelve states 鈥� 鈥� give districts guidance on 鈥渢est-to-stay鈥� programs that let students avoid quarantine if they take regular COVID tests that consistently come back negative.

Kansas is working with local health departments to implement a . For example, the 鈥渢est-to-know鈥� plan helps districts create testing programs for all students to detect outbreaks before they spread in schools. The 鈥渢est-to-stay and learn鈥� is designed to let students who were exposed to the virus safely avoid quarantine. And the 鈥渢est-to-stay, play and participate鈥� plan outlines testing protocols for students who were exposed to the virus and still want to participate safely in sports or extracurricular activities.

If more states provide this level of detailed guidance and support to districts, it will help school systems keep students safe and learning. But they will still need to overcome other barriers keeping schools from implementing COVID testing 鈥� including problems with the supply and distribution of tests.

Increasing demand for COVID-19 tests due to the delta variant has complicated the task of getting them to schools. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra that the federal government is working with states to understand where tests need to go鈥攁nd to get them to places where the need is greatest.

Stalled progress on vaccine requirements

Only one state 鈥� Delaware 鈥� has imposed a new vaccine requirement since early September. Its will take effect Nov. 1.

Of the 11 states requiring staff vaccinations, eight let teachers opt out through regular COVID-19 testing. The number of states requiring inoculation for school staff remains lower than the number 鈥� 14 鈥� that ban vaccine requirements.

Most of the remaining states leave the decision on imposing mandates up to school systems, and some incentivize vaccinations. In Massachusetts, once a district reaches 80 percent or more vaccinated students and teachers, it .

In the absence of vaccine mandates, states can still increase transparency so parents and teachers can know how many people in their schools are vaccinated. But another analysis from the Center on Reinventing Public Education of reopening guidance in 50 states plus the District of Columbia finds only a single state 鈥� Maine 鈥� is reporting clear and accessible data on COVID vaccinations in schools in a publicly accessible format. This month, the state released two new dashboards on by school and rates by district.

Solving short-term pandemic problems can lay the groundwork for long-term improvements

The challenges districts face with attendance this year aren鈥檛 going away. More students are enrolling in online schools. More school systems hope to use online learning to eliminate sick days or snow days.

Designing policies for measuring student attendance, participation and enrollment in a year of quarantines will help school systems in the future. Districts can鈥檛 be left to solve these problems on their own. They need state leadership.

As all of our nation鈥檚 schools have reopened for the new year, and many communities continue to face rising infections, one of the best defenses against school disruptions may also be one of the least contentious: .

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Testing can complement masking, vaccination requirements and proactive parent communication, and it can help schools while minimizing quarantines.

But our review of 100 large and urban school systems suggests many districts are not systematically taking advantage of this critical tool.

About half the districts in our review either mandate regular testing or rely on optional testing to identify new cases, with 37 requiring testing for staff and 14 for students.

Eight districts require staff to undergo testing, usually weekly, even if they are vaccinated. Twenty-nine require testing for some staff members, such as those who are unvaccinated. Another 29 districts offer optional testing for staff.

While student testing mandates in New York and Los Angeles grabbed headlines when school resumed, such requirements remain uncommon in the rest of the country.

Four districts in our review, including L.A. Unified, require all students to undergo regular COVID screening. Ten districts require some to undergo preventative testing, such as children who are unvaccinated or play sports. at least 10 percent of students each week, targeting unvaccinated kids.

Test-to-stay is a new tool aimed to shorten quarantine time

Testing can help administrators detect COVID infections before they spread in schools, while limiting the number of students who have to quarantine. Every district we track has now clarified its quarantine policy, and a growing number offer exemptions to students who take other precautions to safeguard against the spread of the virus.

Of the 100 districts we review, 86 exempt vaccinated students from quarantine, with 69 specifying that the exemption applies if they do not show symptoms. Other exemptions include students who recently recovered from COVID (37) and exposed students wearing masks (29).

Districts are increasingly turning to testing to limit quarantines. A little more than half of districts in our review (53) allow students who test negative for the virus to shorten or avoid isolation.

A few districts (8), in an attempt to keep more students learning in-person, are modifying their approach to quarantine using a test-to-stay program. These policies allow students who may have been exposed to the virus to continue in-person learning as long as they take daily COVID-19 tests.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet approved the test-to-stay approach and continues to recommend quarantine for up to 14 days for certain students. The federal public health agency told The New York Times but is working with local jurisdictions to collect more information on the strategy and its execution.

A handful of states, including , , and , have now outlined test-to-stay protocols or similar rules that let schools use testing to ease quarantine requirements. Seven of the eight districts with test-to-stay policies are located in these states. Portland Public Schools, in Maine, is the only district in our review administering a test-to-stay program without state guidance.

In other cases, state policies might prevent districts from adding nuance to their quarantine policies. asks students or staff who are under quarantine to stay home for 14 days after their last exposure to an infected person, monitor for symptoms and seek testing. A negative test does not shorten the length of time a student has to quarantine.

Testing may be an especially valuable tool in states that limit other health precautions, like Florida and Texas, whose governors have banned mask mandates, or Montana, which passed legislation that .

More districts signal vaccination requirements, but lack clarity on enforcement

Following the Biden administration鈥檚 recent, sweeping mandates for federal workers and businesses, a few more districts are following suit, with 40 in our review now requiring staff vaccinations. Of those, 14 require all staff members to get vaccinated without a testing alternative. This is double the number of districts with vaccine mandates a month earlier, but it is far outpaced by the growing number that allow staff to opt out through regular testing.

San Antonio ISD became the first district in Texas to require staff vaccinations, a decision that .

Meanwhile, 26 districts now require staff to either get vaccinated or participate in weekly testing. The School District of Philadelphia requires unvaccinated staff to get tested twice a week.

L.A. Unified and the Oakland Unified School District remain the ones that require vaccinations for all eligible students. Another California district, San Diego Unified, for students over 16. Eight districts require student athletes to get vaccinated.

As early as January, all eligible K-12 students in California will be required to get the vaccine. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the nation鈥檚 first statewide mandate on Friday. 

State, federal leadership needed to help districts take advantage of testing

District leaders face the critical work of protecting students’ health, keeping them learning in classrooms wherever possible and helping them recover from the academic and emotional toll of the pandemic. They cannot afford to waste precious time and attention battling state officials or teachers unions over health precautions. Nor can students afford to have this school year interrupted by excessive quarantines.

Testing can be a valuable tool for catching outbreaks early in schools. It can work in concert with masking, vaccination and quarantines 鈥� or provide critical protections in districts where political barriers are blocking these crucial health precautions. And research suggests it can provide a safe, effective way to while guarding against infections in schools.

State and federal leaders should enact guidance that helps districts make the most of this critical tool. State education and health offices must come together to provide the funding, policy guidance and coordination so districts can conduct reliable testing at scale.

Locally, health authorities can pool resources and share protocols. And they should help districts find creative ways to overcome one of the biggest logistical barriers to robust COVID testing programs: a lack of staff. As one district official in Texas told The Times, 鈥�.鈥� That army could include parent volunteers, school system workers, employees from community organizations or personnel from local health agencies.

There is still much we don鈥檛 know about the barriers preventing schools from implementing effective COVID testing programs. Until more districts start enacting testing programs and talking openly about the operational barriers, it may not be clear exactly what states, health agencies and community volunteers can do to help.

Bree Dusseault is principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, supporting its analysis of district and charter responses to COVID-19. She previously served as executive director of Green Dot Public Schools Washington, executive director of pK-12 schools for Seattle Public Schools, a researcher at CRPE, and as a principal and teacher. Christine Pitts is a resident policy fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

During the spring, COVID-19 cases were on the decline, vaccines were being distributed and most states made bold commitments to fully reopen schools in the fall. In a bipartisan rush to incentivize in-person learning, some states restricted virtual options. New Jersey barred districts from operating online programs, and the Tennessee State Board of Education approved a聽 preventing districts from offering remote learning except during declared emergencies.

These well-intentioned plans quickly became outdated over the summer, as the Delta variant caused spikes in COVID-19 cases and the more contagious strain meant children, especially those too young to be vaccinated, were more likely to become infected.

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This fall, districts across the country are pivoting to create remote options for families facing complicated health decisions and those not yet comfortable sending their unvaccinated children back to school. Still, these options are not available to all students. And many districts are setting enrollment caps on online classes, meaning some students who want access to an online option might not be able to enroll in one.

Local demand for virtual learning options increases

Between July and September, the number of districts in our nationwide review of 100 large and urban school systems offering remote learning more than doubled, from 41 to 94.

While many districts anticipated the need to continue offering virtual options and started planning for them over the summer, some remote programs rolled out as recently as this month.

San Antonio Independent School District, for example, just announced a virtual program for up to with medical challenges, their siblings and students who have undergone trauma during COVID-19.

Districts that created or expanded online learning options earlier in the year saw a greater-than-expected rush of demand. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, for example, had a little over 600 students enrolled in and virtual learning options as of mid-August. In the following weeks, enrollment nearly quadrupled to elementary, middle and high schoolers, with 183 on the wait list. Gwinnett County in Atlanta saw a similar surge, with online enrollment actually declining from June (3,400 students enrolled) to July (3,300 students) and then escalating to 5,300 students in August.

Of the 100 districts in our review, at least 29 have set enrollment caps or introduced wait lists for virtual options.

Some districts were not prepared for the volume of students seeking these programs: Sacramento City Unified only had enough teachers for of their registered virtual learners a week into the school year. The Hawaii Department of Education is looking to hire to satisfy the increased demand.

Some state leaders have caught up to these districts鈥� actions and are providing more options for remote learning this school year, but others still face pressure from districts and families to authorize more virtual instruction.

• In late August, Tennessee Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced she would grant seven-day waivers to districts that submitted plans to shift specific schools to remote learning in response to COVID outbreaks. Schwinn has since in response to a groundswell of requests from advocates, including and local leaders, for virtual learning options this fall.
• In , the Bridgewater-Raritan board of education is asking state leaders to reconsider the ban on online instruction. The board passed a resolution that is heading to the governor鈥檚 office, the state Department of Education and the New Jersey School Board Association.
• In Texas, the legislature recently approved a bill that would allow state funding to support district remote learning programs. This came after large school districts, such as Austin and Dallas, launched virtual options with the intent to use American Rescue Plan funds to cover operating costs.

Still, many remote learning programs are struggling to accommodate demand or are not accessible to all students. In addition to removing barriers to remote learning programs, states should ensure that districts are providing all students access to high-quality remote learning options.

Remote learning partnerships are helpful, but rare

Most virtual options reviewed are standalone programs, meaning they provide a remote alternative to in-person instruction. While most districts we track are staffing remote lessons with their own teachers, some are forming partnerships with external programs offered by the state or independent organizations.

Indianapolis Public Schools is contracting with Paramount Schools of Excellence (K-8) and Phalen Leadership Academies (K-12) to operate online schools that offer small-group instruction, tutoring, social-emotional resources for students with disabilities and English learners, enrichment and electives. District leaders have said they want the schools to develop online learning programs that improve upon the low quality and lack of student engagement that plague many virtual charter schools.

However, most of these arrangements are all-or-nothing. Parents can either enroll their children as alternatives to in-person learning or keep them in brick-and-mortar schools. Only a fraction of districts in our review (5 of 100) are using their virtual school or a similar program to support learning for students who are temporarily out of class due to school closures or quarantines.

announced a partnership with an Ohio charter school in which the online school will provide small-group instruction and tailored assignments for students in quarantine or isolation, so they can pick up where they left off when they return to class. ASU Prep Digital plans to implement similar partnerships with other schools around the country. Still, these types of arrangements remain rare.

Remote learning programs vary by instruction type and availability of supports

Many districts have limited information about their remote offerings and do not mention whether real-time instruction, academic support such as tutoring, or enrichment options will be available to virtual learners.

Since some districts offer multiple remote learning options, our review covers a total of 105 programs. Of those, about half (53) communicate plans to serve both students with disabilities and English learners. Another 1 in 4 (25) describe how they will serve students with disabilities, but not English learners.

Some restrict which students with disabilities can participate, though, with these children usually assessed on a case-by-case basis. Kansas City Public Schools, for example, states that a student鈥檚 disability accommodation team will meet to decide whether the virtual academy is appropriate before the child can enroll.

Among the remote programs we reviewed, the most common type of intervention or support was the opportunity to check in with teachers. More than half (60 of 105 remote programs) committed to offering this resource. Less than half mentioned academic interventions, such as tutoring, extra learning time or small-group instruction. Though the majority of remote learning programs (67) offered some combination of electives or enrichment activities, less than a third (31) offered both.

Though many districts had 18 months鈥� worth of preparation and experience designing virtual learning experiences, a large number provide few details about what parents and students can expect. Just 29 of the 105 programs we reviewed explain how they plan to support students鈥� mental health or social and emotional learning.

Three ways states and districts can prioritize quality virtual instruction

Surveys show parents are divided about the role of remote learning. While the reports that 53 percent of parents support sending their children back to in-person learning, finds that 48 percent of elementary parents and 64 percent of high school parents support remote learning options.

These parents鈥� preferences reflect the dual realities school districts are contending with this year. On the one hand, remote learning was less effective than full, in-person instruction last year. The longer schools were closed, the greater the and toll for students. On the other hand, remote learning can provide an essential stopgap for schools facing COVID-19 outbreaks or needing to accommodate students who are forced to quarantine. And long term, it has the potential to give schools and families new flexibility around where and when learning happens.

First, states and districts must establish standards and goals that ensure online learning programs provide high-quality instruction. Colorado, a long-time leader in virtual instruction, established a聽 for approving online learning programs that operate across district lines, covering critical issues like governance, curriculum quality and transparency.

Second, states must provide districts with clear and consistent rules for remote learning programs. The has approved 51 district-operated virtual programs based on a set of regulations and guidelines modeled on pre-existing charter school regulations to ensure teachers are certified, that schools provide access to live instruction and that students actively participate in online classes.

Third, schools and districts must ensure that all students have equitable access to the services and support they would receive if attending in-person school. stands out for outlining detailed information about what parents should expect for multilingual students and children with disabilities. For example, the district recommends that students with Individualized Education Plans should reevaluate their learning goals and instructional programs if they choose to move to remote learning.

The pandemic has prompted an explosion of new and expanded online learning programs across the country. New and to established online programs. States and districts are reconsidering how they regulate, measure and account for remote learning programs.

The decisions state policymakers make this year will reshape the future of online learning. Will they create a world in which snow day interruptions are a thing of the past, and districts harness the potential of virtual instruction to give students and teachers more freedom to decide where and when learning happens? Or will the raft of new and expanding online schools simply lead to more students in virtual classrooms with low levels of engagement and poor academic outcomes?

For now, one thing is certain: Schools cannot afford to repeat the failures of remote learning that did not work for students or teachers during closures last year.

Christine Pitts is a resident policy fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. Cara Pangelinan is a research assistant at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Nearly every school in the country has now reopened for the 2021-22 academic year, but states and districts are still scrambling to ensure students will stay safe and continue learning, with as few disruptions as possible.

We have been tracking reopening efforts in all 50 states and 100 large and urban school districts.

Our nationwide review finds that despite high-profile rancor over mask requirements, debates over them are largely settled. The vast majority (88) districts in our review require them for all students and staff.

Remote learning options have quickly become the norm. Of the districts we track, 94 offer some sort of online learning option to at least some students 鈥� up from 79 a month ago, and more than twice the number when we started tracking reopening plans in July.

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But while these hot-button issues are starting to cool, our nation鈥檚 schools have lots of work to do. This week, we鈥檙e focusing on three key issues: COVID testing, vaccine transparency and learning opportunities for students in quarantine.

Testing policies: An underused tool to keep students safe and learning

One intuitive way to keep students safe and learning is to catch the virus before it spreads in schools. That makes testing a critical tool. Nearly a third of the districts we reviewed (31 of 100) require staff to undergo testing for COVID-19, with 8 requiring all staff to get tested regularly even if they are vaccinated.

Newark Public Schools updated a policy requiring weekly testing for all staff. It now applies to unvaccinated adults only.

As for students, the number of districts in our review that require regular COVID testing increased from 9 to 15. Most of these apply only to student athletes.

Testing can also be a valuable way to limit the number of students who have to quarantine. A聽 out of England shows that when a student has been exposed to COVID, daily testing can be just as effective as a quarantine at keeping the virus from spreading in schools 鈥� and without the same disruptions to instruction.

But right now, such 鈥渢est to stay鈥� policies, which allow students who may have been exposed to the virus to keep coming to school as long as they take daily tests, remain relatively rare on this side of the Atlantic.

Districts that have tried them, such as Boston Public Schools, have run into two critical logistical barriers. First, parents haven鈥檛 been quick to sign consent forms necessary to allow the testing. Before the school year started, had returned their forms. Second, a surge in demand for tests meant slow to receive their test kits.

While these statewide programs aiming to keep kids in school will require more coordination across local services than ever before, the stakes for kids are high. The words of Russell Johnston, Massachusetts鈥� deputy K-12 education commissioner, explain why addressing these barriers should be a critical priority for state and local policymakers everywhere in the country.

鈥淲e only have our students for 180 days out of the school year in most of our schools in the state,鈥� he told the Boston Globe. 鈥淎nd you know, that .鈥�

As vaccine mandates stall, few states offer transparency

Despite President Joe Biden鈥檚 high-profile push last week, vaccine requirements remain in flux for most of the nation鈥檚 schools. Nearly a third (31) of the districts we reviewed require all staff to be vaccinated, an addition of just one district (Nevada鈥檚 Clark County) since we updated our data last week.

That means in most states and school systems, parents won鈥檛 be able to know for sure whether the adults working with their children have taken vaccines. But this information doesn鈥檛 have to be secret, and some states have made laudable efforts to increase transparency.

Maine continues to be the only state tracking and reporting teacher vaccination rates, to the state health department. The is moving in the same direction by recommending that schools begin verifying student and staff vaccinations.

The Alabama departments of public health and education collaborated to create a for COVID-19 cases and school reopening status.

In Oregon, Portland Public Schools released a聽 this week that reports the number of students in isolation and quarantine by school, as well as staff vaccination coverage across the district.

If states are not going to require all school employees to be vaccinated, these dashboards could at least be updated so parents can see what percentage of adults in their child鈥檚 school have received the vaccine. Education leaders can build on reporting practices already established for health care facilities in some states.

Too many districts leave learning to chance for students in quarantine

The overwhelming majority of districts in our review (97) now have updated their quarantine policies for the 2021-22 school year.

Most (79) exempt vaccinated students from quarantine, while 28 exempt masked students, 33 exempt students who recently recovered from COVID-19 and 37 shorten quarantines for students who test negative for the virus.

The amount of time a student can miss due to quarantine varies widely. Some districts allow students back as soon as two days after exposure and others require a full 14-day quarantine.

This raises the critical question of how school districts plan to provide instruction to students who still have to stay home because they may have been exposed to the virus.

Sixty-six of the districts we reviewed provide some details about what remote learning will look like for students in quarantine, a significant increase from 38 at the beginning of this month.

However, these details rarely show a clear pathway to continuity of learning for quarantined students. The more detailed information provided is about access to work assignments: of the districts that describe learning for students in quarantine, nearly two-thirds (41 of 66) commit to providing take-home assignments or online work for students to complete on their own at home.

But most districts offer no guarantee that students will interact with teachers.

Just 19 (29 percent of those that detail quarantine learning arrangements) will ensure that quarantined students can consult with a teacher or a staff member on assignments while in isolation.

Just 14 (21 percent) commit to providing quarantined students with live, real-time instruction.

Five districts we reviewed 鈥� Boulder Valley, Colorado; Houston Independent School District; Kansas City Public Schools; Metro Nashville; and San Diego Unified 鈥� will offer their remote learning program or an equivalent to quarantined students.

This means students could face days, or possibly even weeks, with drastically limited instruction after possible exposure to the virus. Students being exposed multiple times could face as much as a month away from school. And these disruptions could fall more heavily on children younger than 12, who are not yet eligible for vaccines and are therefore less likely to be exempt from quarantines.

While it seems nearly impossible to forecast the number of students in quarantine and needing remote options at each school, education leaders should not forget the lessons they learned last year about how to deliver instruction remotely. They should use that know-how to ensure that no students have to miss learning because they need to stay home to keep their peers safe.

Brace for another rocky school year

Overall, our analysis points to a difficult school year ahead.

Parents in most of the country are sending their children to classrooms with no clear understanding of whether the teachers are vaccinated.

Students face widely varying rules about how much school they will have to miss if they are exposed to the virus, and teachers in many places are on their own to figure out how to continue supporting learning for students who have to quarantine.

But we also see some powerful tools 鈥� like COVID testing and online learning platforms 鈥� that have the potential to help this school year go well.

Making these tools available in every school, and helping schools overcome supply bottlenecks or logistical barriers, should be job one for state policymakers in the coming weeks.

Bree Dusseault is principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, supporting its analysis of district and charter responses to COVID-19. She previously served as executive director of Green Dot Public Schools Washington, executive director of pK-12 schools for Seattle Public Schools, a researcher at CRPE, and as a principal and teacher. Christine Pitts is a resident policy fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

President Joe Biden鈥檚 push for more employers to require vaccines is likely to accelerate an already-growing trend in schools.

In the past month, the number of states requiring teacher vaccinations has jumped to 10, including the District of Columbia, according to a new analysis we conducted at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Those include roughly a third (31) of the districts in our review of 100 large and high-profile school systems. And Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 high-profile move to require eligible students to get vaccinated suggests vaccine mandates won鈥檛 be confined to school employees.

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Rising vaccination rates are good news for the country鈥檚 students. They increase the chances schools will be able to keep them safe, and keep them learning, all year and in person as much as possible.

But they won鈥檛 totally eliminate other challenges school systems are likely to face. Clarifying quarantine rules, and supporting high-quality instruction for students who are forced to quarantine or isolate because they鈥檝e tested positive or been exposed to the virus, remains a critical task for state and school district leaders.

Right now, the amount of time students can expect to spend in quarantine if they are suspected of being exposed to the virus, and the amount of instruction they can expect to receive, varies a lot depending on where they live.

State quarantine and isolation policies leave districts hanging

Forty-three states and D.C. have updated their quarantine and isolation guidelines for the 2021-22 school year, while seven states offer no guidance and simply link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage.

In 15 states and D.C., schools and districts must follow statewide quarantine guidance, while 29 states offer only recommended guidance. The remaining six states provide very little. , for example, stated that it is 鈥渘ot currently issuing isolation or quarantine orders for COVID-19 positive or COVID-19 exposed individuals.鈥�

Half of the states provide detailed guidance about how long a student should spend in quarantine. Of these, 14 specify isolation periods that range from seven to 14 days for different categories of exposure, and 11 specify periods that range from seven to 10 days.

The other half of states give school districts broad flexibility to determine the number of days students and staff are expected to quarantine, depending on whether they are asymptomatic, vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test.

The result of this loose, varied and minimal state guidance is a wide range of district quarantine policies.

Alaska鈥檚 Anchorage School District allows up to 24 quarantine days for students who live with an infected household member and cannot avoid continued close contact. At the other extreme, Kansas鈥檚 allows exposed students to return to class immediately, provided they wear a mask for 14 days and take daily rapid antigen tests for eight days.

The shortest quarantines are heavily concentrated in Florida, where seven of eight districts in our review allow students to return as early as two to five days after exposure. , which requires a 10-day quarantine, is the exception. Florida state guidance recommends four to seven days of isolation.

When will students and teachers have to quarantine? For how long? It depends

Most states have at least some policies that ease quarantine requirements for students who meet certain criteria.

Thirty-eight states exempt fully vaccinated students from quarantines, 23 provide exemptions if an individual has previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 7 exempt individuals if they are asymptomatic. In addition, 19 states include the to determine whether a student counts as having been exposed to the virus.

Easing quarantine rules for vaccinated people can reduce unnecessary learning disruptions and create an incentive to get vaccinated that stops short of a mandate. But some states have tied districts鈥� hands.

In , a state law prohibiting people from being treated differently based on vaccination status means that local leaders cannot use it as a way to shorten quarantines. In Ohio, a outlines 鈥渁nti-discrimination鈥� practices that would prohibit schools from establishing safety precautions specifically for unvaccinated individuals.

Some states devised creative guidance to keep teachers and students in schools as much as possible. The allows for teachers and staff deemed 鈥渆ssential鈥� to keep working if they remain asymptomatic, wear a mask at all times, self-monitor for symptoms and self-quarantine at home when they are not at work. In , local health departments and districts can offer students the option to wear a mask at school for 10 days in place of following quarantine-at-home protocols.

How will students in quarantine continue learning?

Remote learning is a critical tool for keeping students learning during quarantine, but not all students will have access. Eight states 鈥� Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas 鈥� are restricting at least one aspect of remote learning.

In some cases, states outlined these restrictions in their American Rescue Plan documents, which were created before the Delta variant started rampaging across the country. For example, New Jersey states that, 鈥淚n the 2021-22 school year, if buildings are open for in-person instruction, parents or guardians will not be able to opt their child out of in-person instruction.鈥�

Only 17 states have stated they will require districts to ensure that students can access instruction during quarantine or isolation.

Some provide detailed guidance in their 2021 reopening plans about how districts should provide remote learning. explains that schools opting to provide long-term virtual options must commit to quality instruction, state-aligned standards and certified, well-trained staff. The spelled out details about instructional time and enrollment.

Five districts of the 100 we reviewed 鈥� Boulder Valley, Colorado; Houston ISD; Kansas City Public Schools; Metro Nashville; and San Diego Unified 鈥� are offering their remote learning program, or an equivalent, to quarantined students. The rest will likely rely on schools and teachers to create their own solutions 鈥� which, again, means the education students will receive could vary a lot depending on where they live.

Chicago Public Schools expects teachers to provide coursework aligned to the instruction students would have received in class, and for students to receive up to two hours of live, real-time teaching a day while they鈥檙e in quarantine.

In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, teachers will be expected to revive a practice from last year: concurrent instruction, in which some students join class by videoconference while others attend in person.

Vermont鈥檚 Champlain Valley Public Schools distinguish between individually quarantined students and whole-class quarantines. The district will provide remote instruction only if the entire class must quarantine. Otherwise, quarantines will be treated as regular absences, and students won鈥檛 receive instruction.

Most states back COVID-19 testing

The majority of states 鈥� 36, as well as D.C. 鈥� provide schools and districts with both guidance and funding to administer COVID-19 testing. A robust initiative from the Washington State Department of Health, , helps schools provide vaccines and tests.

The remaining 14 states provide either limited or no information about statewide COVID-19 testing. In the “,” testing is mentioned as one of nine key prevention strategies. However, there is no reference to statewide support for districts that wish to establish and run these programs.

This month, a new type of policy, known as test-to-stay, has emerged to limit major school-based outbreaks.

Under 鈥檚 recommended policy, if 30 students, or 2 percent of a school鈥檚 student body 鈥� whichever is lower 鈥� test positive for COVID-19, the school will screen all students. Those who test positive will be required to isolate at home, but those whose results are negative can continue in-person classes.

In , schools can opt in to a test-to-stay protocol in which someone who comes into close contact with an individual testing positive for COVID-19 can receive a negative test and continue to attend classes, but quarantine from all extracurriculars and other activities.

These policies can help catch outbreaks before they spread out of control. But they also underscore the importance of providing instruction to students who are asked to stay home.

Vaccinations necessary but not sufficient

States and districts received a historic infusion of federal COVID relief dollars with the charge to keep kids safe and learning through the 2021-22 school year.

However, emerging fall trends reveal that states鈥� plans are underwhelming and largely miss the mark. Policymakers and education leaders can shift course to ensure students are safe and learning this fall and beyond by reinforcing the things that work:

• Provide districts support for coordinated vaccination and COVID-19 testing. States can give districts a framework to increase vaccinations among staff and students while implementing robust testing programs to catch potential outbreaks. For example, state education and health agencies can develop a network of local health authorities who can facilitate both vaccination and testing in schools.
• Develop a sense of safety by reporting staff vaccination coverage. A  across a state will protect students who are not eligible to be vaccinated and limit learning disruptions. Many states publish COVID-19 vaccination rates for health care professionals by county on public dashboards to establish transparency and trust among those who visit care facilities. Reporting similar data for teachers would help develop a  for parents and students.

• Establish clear, easy-to-follow quarantine rules. Differing federal, state and local policies on quarantine and isolation leave parents and students confused and uncertain about what is safe and what to do next. States can establish clear, straightforward quarantine policies along with streamlined communications efforts to ensure students, teachers and families feel secure about school safety precautions and reduce guesswork for local education leaders.

• Ensure students have access to remote learning throughout the year. States must set clear expectations about enrollment, attendance and quality of remote learning. With many competing priorities, districts need state support to ensure schools are providing high-quality remote instruction to students in quarantine or isolation.

These measures demand stronger action by state leaders. Students cannot afford to lose days or weeks of instruction while school district administrators navigate vague, conflicting or counterproductive guidance from other layers of government.

Christine Pitts is a resident policy fellow at the Centers on Reinventing Public Education. Bree Dusseault is principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, supporting its analysis of district and charter responses to COVID-19. 

This the first in a series of weekly analyses of COVID-19 policies in 100 large and high-profile school systems, produced by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, Bothell. Get this weekly snapshot, as well as rolling daily pandemic updates, delivered straight to your inbox 鈥� sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter.