President Joe Biden issued an executive order to support the opening and continued operation of schools.
"It is the policy of my administration to provide support to help create the conditions for safe, in‑person learning as quickly as possible," Biden wrote in his Jan. 21 order.
Biden's order directs the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide evidence-based guidance to assist states and elementary and secondary schools. The decisions on whether and how to reopen for in-person learning should include implementing measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation and testing.
During the campaign, Biden promised to direct the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide evidence-based guidance on whether to open or close businesses and schools. This is one of 100 promises we are tracking on our Biden Promise Tracker.
Before he took office, Biden spoke about his goal to "safely reopen the majority of our K-8 schools by the end of the first 100 days." Biden likely left high schools out of that statement because teenagers are more likely to catch COVID-19 than younger students, and younger students may struggle to learn remotely.
We could not find federal data on the proportion of schools that are open, but many are, experts said. As of Jan. 20, just under half of K-12 students in the U.S. were attending virtual-only schools, according to an analysis by Burbio that aggregates school data nationwide. Just over one-third of students were attending school in person every day, while about 22% were attending hybrid schools, meaning students attend in person some days of the week.
"Many districts that were in-person at some point in the fall and took breaks due to rising COVID rates are planning returns during January and early February, so we expect the number of K-12 students in-person, either every day or hybrid, to rise regardless of federal activity in the coming weeks," said Burbio president Dennis Roche.
But just over one-third of K-12 students have not been in a classroom this year, with absences most concentrated in west coast and mid-Atlantic states, plus many urban areas, Roche said.
"Existing plans to return in-person are focused on K-5 students in these areas. When you think about 'opening schools,' the immediate area of concern is focused in these regions," he said.
While Biden's promise is about the number of schools reopening, looking at the number of students in classrooms provides a more complete picture, because there could be many small schools open while some of the largest urban schools are closed, experts said.
"The real challenge is getting the majority of students back to school, which will be harder, because the largest schools serving the most kids are in the poorest, most-COVID impacted areas, with low levels of health care access and social/government trust (justified, certainly), and high levels of COVID spread and co-morbidity," said Justin Reich, an educational researcher and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab.
Days before he took office, Biden announced a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 proposal, including $130 billion to help schools reopen. Biden's proposal states that schools could use the $130 billion in a variety of ways, including to reduce class sizes and modify spaces, improve ventilation, hire more janitors, and buy masks. The money can also go toward summer school or supporting students who fell behind.
Biden's plan requires buy-in from lawmakers who have formally approved $54 billion for K-12 schools in December. Biden faces a slim majority in Congress, and it's unclear how lawmakers will prioritize various aspects of Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal.
Biden's order is a first step toward his promise to use evidence to determine COVID-19 openings and closings, including schools. We will be watching to see if Biden makes progress toward his goal but for now we rate this promise In the Works.