BY JUSTINE COLEMAN – 05/21/21 Schools in Georgia that required teachers and staff to wear masks and improved ventilation reported fewer COVID-19 cases, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released on Friday. The research, conducted by the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health, determined that COVID-19 incidence was 37 percent lower in schools…
Category: School Safety
Texas bans local governments, public schools from mandating masks
Local governments or officials who attempt to put mask requirements in place can face a fine of up to $1,000.ByJoseph Guzman | May 19, 2021 getty: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) Story at a glance The executive action taken Tuesday prohibits the state’s counties, cities, school districts, public health authorities or government officials from implementing…
Alabama offers free online summer learning to battle student COVID slide
By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com Alabama students have more ways to keep learning over the summer, even without being in school. The Alabama Department of Education launched a free Summer Learning Challenge this week, offering children in kindergarten through 12th grade online access to hundreds of thousands of books, along with math exercises and online activities. State…
Alexandria will remove police from public school hallways
By Hannah Natanson May 16, 2021 The city of Alexandria will pull all police officers from public school hallways — ending a program that began nearly three decades ago — following a narrow and contentious vote by the city council earlier this month. The council voted 4 to 3 on May 3 to reallocate nearly $800,000 used…
Nearly 50 public school districts in Wisconsin remove mask requirements, despite CDC guidance to keep them in place
By: Ben Jordan May 17, 2021 Dozens of school districts across the state have done away with mask requirements despite the latest CDC guidance saying masks should be worn in classrooms due to low vaccination rates among children. The Mequon-Thiensville School District is meeting Monday night to decide whether to toss its mask mandate. Mequon mother Emily Landers…
Can Schools Require Students to Get COVID-19 Vaccines, and Will They?
By Evie Blad — May 12, 2021 7 min read As younger children qualify for COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials are unsure of how many families will opt to have their children inoculated if the shots aren’t required for school attendance. While some colleges and universities have made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for their students, experts say it’s unlikely…
Gov. McMaster issues executive order on masks in South Carolina schools and local mask mandates
Greenville County Schools responds to the new order May 12, 2021 TRACKING THE COVID-19 VACCINE Sign up for daily emails with local updates and other important news.SUBMITPrivacy NoticeCOLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order Tuesday letting parents opt their children out of wearing masks in public schools, citing widespread coronavirus…
US Schools Fight to Keep Students Amid Fear of Dropout Surge
U.S. educators are doing everything they can to track down high school students who stopped showing up to classes and to help them get the credits needed to graduate. By Associated Press|May 11, 2021, US Schools Fight to Keep Students Amid Fear of Dropout SurgeMore A student walks between classes at Wyandotte High School in Kansas…
White House defends CDC outreach to teachers union
BY BRETT SAMUELS – 05/04/21 02:03 PM EDT © Getty Images The White House on Tuesday downplayed criticism from conservatives that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sought input from a top teachers union in developing its school reopening guidelines. “It’s actually longstanding best practice for the CDC to engage with organizations, groups that are going…
Some schools skip student quarantines
By Donna St. GeorgeMay 2, 2021 at 6:33 p.m. CDT In the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, Superintendent Matt Miller kept school doors open. But the coronavirus kept pushing students out. In the fall semester, he counted 5,172 student quarantines. It meant a constant jostling of teaching and learning. “We have had students who had to quarantine three times,”…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 