Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
School Districts Wrestle With Plans To Reopen In The Fall
Politico: 'How The Hell Are We Going To Do This?' The Panic Over Reopening Schools
From social distancing to health checks, the list of concerns is seemingly endless as school districts draft their plans, many of which are still in the development stages. Those concerns are only intensifying as Covid-19 cases begin to skyrocket. "There are no plans for most of these places,” said Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union. “People are panicked and parents should be panicked.” (Gaudiano and Perez Jr., 7/4)
The Hill: Reopening Schools Seen As Vital Step In Pandemic Recovery
Public health experts are increasingly calling for the reopening of schools in the fall, citing the educational and social damage to children if they are kept away, even if such a move would require tradeoffs to safeguard public health. The extent to which schools can reopen depends in large part on the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in the surrounding area, making steps such as closing bars to reduce the spread of the pandemic critical ahead of the fall. (Sullivan, 7/4)
AP: Debates Turn Emotional As Schools Decide How And If To Open
School districts across America are in the midst of making wrenching decisions over how to resume classes in settings radically altered by the coronavirus pandemic, with school buses running below capacity, virtual learning, outdoor classrooms and quarantine protocols for infected children the new norm. The plans for the upcoming school year are taking shape by the day, and vary district to district, state to state. The debates have been highly emotional, with tempers flaring among parents and administrators, and have been made all the more vexing by record numbers of COVID-19 cases being reported each day. (Whittle and Thompson, 7/5)
Colleges and universities also face a variety of challenges, ranging from a dwindling number of applicants to mask- wearing policies and even the unique issues that come with trying to curb the spread of the virus on campus —
AP: Amid Pandemic, Fewer Students Seek Federal Aid For College
The number of high school seniors applying for U.S. federal college aid plunged in the weeks following the sudden closure of school buildings this spring — a time when students were cut off from school counselors, and families hit with financial setbacks were reconsidering plans for higher education. In the first weeks of the pandemic, the number of new applications fell by nearly half compared to last year’s levels, fueled by a precipitous decline among students at low-income schools, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. The numbers have risen as states and schools have launched campaigns urging students to apply for aid, but they remain down overall from last year. (Binkley and Fenn, 7/6)
NPR: Georgia Universities Won't Require Face Masks This Fall — And Faculty Are Livid
As the coronavirus infection rate in the U.S. surpasses 50,000 new cases a day, colleges and universities around the country are trying to figure out how to educate their students this fall while still keeping their campus communities safe. That balancing act sometimes causes consternation. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, which is scheduled to hold in-person classes, more than 800 of its 1,100 faculty members have published a letter outlining their concerns. The letter, reported by Georgia Public Broadcasting, criticizes the state university system for mandating statewide reopenings this fall that "do not follow science-based evidence, increase the health risks to faculty, students and staff, and interfere with nimble decision-making necessary to prepare and respond to Covid-19 infection risk." (Schwartz, 7/5)
NPR: 121 University Of Washington Students Infected In Greek Row Outbreak
The University of Washington announced on Sunday that at least 112 fraternity house residents north of its Seattle campus have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of students infected on Greek Row so far to 121. The nine additional students who tested positive were close contacts of the residents, but do not live in the fraternity houses, according to a statement from The University of Washington. (Treisman, 7/5)
