Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Reopening Of Public Spaces, Florida Education Official Orders Schools To Follow
The Hill: Florida Orders All Schools To Open Next Month Despite Surging COVID-19 Cases
Florida's government has ordered all public schools to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall and laid out requirements schools must meet if they wish to provide remote learning. The Tallahassee Democrat reported Monday that the edict was issued by the state's education commissioner, Richard Corcoran. Local health officials can override his decision based on the rate of new coronavirus cases in their counties. “All school boards and charter school governing boards must open brick and mortar schools in August at least five days per week for all students," Corocoran said, according to the newspaper. (Bowden, 7/6)
The New York Times: Reopening N.Y.C. Schools Safely: A Huge Challenge
Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to reopen New York’s public schools in September, but students will almost certainly not return to classrooms five days a week, and they will probably have staggered schedules to fulfill social-distancing requirements. That could mean that the city’s 1.1 million students physically attend school a few times a week, or one week out of every two or even three, and continue their classes online the rest of the time. Math and English classes could be held in cafeterias or gyms, where there is room to spread out. Students may be asked to keep their distance from one another in once-boisterous hallways and schoolyards. (Shapiro, 7/6)
The Washington Post: A Tuition Break, Half-Empty Campuses And Home-Testing Kits: More Top Colleges Announce Fall Plans
Princeton University announced Monday it will cut tuition 10 percent in the coming school year and bring no more than half its undergraduates to the campus in New Jersey, an extraordinary acknowledgment of how the coronavirus pandemic has hobbled the operations of a school that aims to provide education through experiences inside and outside of the classroom. “We do believe that being immersed in a learning environment matters,” Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton’s president, said. The discount from the previously announced rate will set tuition at about $48,500. (Anderson, 7/6)
