Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
School Reopening Chaos Continues
Boston Globe: ‘Missing A Year Affects Us A Lot’: Families Respond With Anguish After Boston Public Schools Cancel In-Person Learning
After another jump in Boston’s coronavirus positivity rate, the city’s public school district said it has canceled in-person instruction for thousands of high-needs students — the only group to return to school buildings so far this fall — starting Thursday. The cancellation affects about 2,600 students, including those with disabilities, students still learning English, and children living in foster care, who had resumed in-person instruction part time at the start of October. (Gans, 10/21)
The New York Times: As Schools Across The U.S. Move To Reopen Doors, Boston Does An About-Face
One moment Boston parents were looking forward to school doors reopening sooner or later for kindergartners and pre-kindergarteners. The next they were learning that those few students who had already been allowed back in person were being sent back home. “I am heartbroken that today we have to close our doors to our highest-need students,” Boston’s schools superintendent, Brenda Cassellius, said Wednesday. (10/22)
In other school news —
KQED: What The Research Says About School Reopening And COVID-19 Transmission
Despite widespread concerns, two new international studies show no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coronavirus. And a third study from the United States shows no elevated risk to childcare workers who stayed on the job. Combined with anecdotal reports from a number of U.S. states where schools are open, as well as a crowdsourced dashboard of around 2,000 U.S. schools, some medical experts are saying it's time to shift the discussion from the risks of opening K-12 schools to the risks of keeping them closed. (Kamenetz, 10/21)
The Washington Post: Amid Wisconsin Coronavirus Outbreak, Researchers Explore Link Between College Cases, Nursing Home Deaths
Mayor Tim Kabat was already on edge as thousands of students returned to La Crosse, Wis., to resume classes this fall at the city’s three colleges. When he saw young people packing downtown bars and restaurants in September, crowded closely and often unmasked, the longtime mayor’s worry turned to dread. Now, more than a month later, La Crosse has endured a devastating spike in coronavirus cases — a wildfire of infection that first appeared predominantly in the student-age population, spread throughout the community and ultimately ravaged elderly residents who had previously managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic. (Eilperin, Dennis and Mooney, 10/21)
Los Angeles Times: California Homeless Student Numbers Surge Past 269,000
There were at least 269,000 K-12 students in California experiencing homelessness at the end of the 2018-19 school year — enough children and teens to fill Dodgers Stadium five times over — and that number was likely a gross underestimate, a UCLA report said. (Newberry, 10/21)
The Washington Post: U Of Michigan Hit With Emergency Stay-At-Home Order Amid Coronavirus Spike. But The Football Team Will Play On.
As health officials in Washtenaw County, Mich., recorded hundreds of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks, they found a common thread: the University of Michigan campus, where officials have blamed the rising infections on students ignoring coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, local health authorities issued an emergency stay-at-home order for the campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... Athletics, though, are exempt — meaning that the Wolverines’ football team will keep preparing for a road game in Minnesota on Saturday and an Oct. 31 home opener against rival Michigan State University. (Elfrink, 10/21)
The Washington Post: Fresno City College Professor Told Student She Can’t Breastfeed During Virtual Class
One month into the semester, Marcella Mares got an email from her professor at Fresno City College. It said that going forward, cameras and microphones would have to be turned on for her virtual statistics class. Mares knew that would be a difficult adjustment with her then-10-month-old baby at home with her during the pandemic. “I emailed him back privately and I had told him that I didn’t have a problem with turning on my camera and microphone, but I would need to turn it off if I needed to feed my baby,” Mares said of the Sept. 23 incident. His email reply, she says, shocked her: It said she shouldn’t breastfeed during class and should instead wait until after the four-hour instruction is over. (Youn, 10/21)
