Testing Czar Ships Rapid Test Kits To Black Colleges

The Hill: Trump Admin Sends 250K COVID-19 Tests To 41 HBCUs: Report
A White House official said the administration has shipped more than 250,000 rapid coronavirus tests to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). “We know they’ve been underserved historically, and we just want to support them,” Adm. Brett Giroir, who is serving as testing czar for the task force, told McClatchy in a story published Tuesday. (Budryk, 9/23)

In other school news —

The New York Times: 100 N.Y.C. School Buildings Have Already Reported A Positive Case 
At least one coronavirus case had been reported in more than 100 school buildings and early childhood centers in the New York City school system by the first day of in-person instruction on Monday, according to the Department of Education. Nearly all the buildings remained open, though six were closed temporarily, in accordance with city guidelines that only those schools that report at least two cases in different classrooms will be shut. (Otterman, 9/23)

The Hill: Study: Less Than 1 Percent Of Teachers, Students Infected Since Schools Reopened 
A new study has found minimal evidence that the novel coronavirus is transferring inside K-12 school buildings despite reports of students and faculty across the country contracting the disease. Brown University researchers collaborated with school administrators and released data Wednesday from a new National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard. (Deese, 9/23)

NBC News: Coronavirus Kills Teacher's Aide, 41, And Her Paramedic Brother 1 Day Apart
A Florida teacher's aide who was dedicated to working with special needs students, and her brother, a paramedic, died from the coronavirus one day apart, their father said in a series of Facebook posts. Shyla Pennington, 41, a teacher's assistant with the Volusia County School District, died Sept. 19, just one day before the death of her brother, Gerald Jones, a paramedic for the county. Gerald was 51, according to a Facebook post by the county's emergency medical services. (Burke, 9/23)

ABC News: Coronavirus Transmission Heightens Concerns Surrounding Ventilation In Schools 
As concern grows among researchers about the extent to which the novel coronavirus might be transmitted through the air, advocates and educators said they have long been concerned about poor air circulation due to outdated ventilation systems. In June, Terrie Brady, president of Duval Teachers United, walked through the halls of some of the schools in her Florida community, said she saw "dirt hanging out of the air ducts." (Tatum, 9/24)

Also —

AP: 22 Middlebury College Students Barred On COVID-19 Violations
Twenty-two Middlebury College students were “barred from campus” due to “significant COVID-19 conduct violations” this past weekend, the school said. In a Monday message to the campus community, Dean of Students Derek Doucet said the school took “swift action” but he could not share any details of what prompted the school to take the action. (9/23)

The Washington Post: Sudbury, Mass., Parents Charged After Alcohol-Filled Teenage House Party Delays Start Of High School Classes 
When a police cruiser rolled up to a house party in Sudbury, Mass., earlier this month, teens sprinted into the woods, chucking beer cans as they fled. In the basement, police found dozens more underage drinkers, all breaking pandemic rules by packing together in a basement with no masks. Now, police have charged two parents and their teenager for hosting the huge party, which forced the local high school to cancel its in-person reopening so the entire student body could quarantine for 14 days. So much vitriol has flowed at the couple, who weren’t identified by police, that authorities are urging locals to accept that family will face some justice in court. (Elfrink, 9/23)