States Make Plans for Reopening

In anticipation of the 2020–21 school year, states have been creating and updating guidance for district and school reopening plans. Informed by public health guidelines and existing data on the state spread of COVID-19, state guidelines established a process for engaging stakeholders, a menu of approaches to learning, and a focus on equity. They also set precedents for how districts will respond in future emergencies.

During summer 2020, 27 states and the District of Columbia gathered groups of education and health stakeholders to collaborate on safely reopening schools in the fall. Governors in Connecticut, Idaho, Michigan, and Oregon—and the mayor of Washington, DC—orchestrated education task forces. In nine states, the state superintendent convened stakeholder groups, and Delaware and North Dakota, the governor and state superintendent created the groups jointly. State boards of education established task forces and committees in Illinois, and New York, and the department of education convened the rest. …

[Correction: This piece originally attributed the establishment of Hawaii’s stakeholder group to the state board of education.]