COVID-19 School Reopening Checklist
The eSchool+ Initiative is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions, Berman Institute of Bioethics, and Schools of Education, Medicine, and Public Health. It was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to develop tools and resources for schools to think responsibly about caring for students during school closures and reopenings. The initiative benefits from expertise in ethics, school health, school policy, food security, clinical medicine and education.
How K-12 Schools Should Prepare for Reopening During the 2020-21 Academic Year: An Equity Checklist
How to Use This Checklist
The checklist is divided into seven sections. Part One is intended as a diagnostic tool to help schools evaluate the status of their students and families following school closures during spring 2020. The information collected in Part One is designed to help schools determine which of the subsequent sections they need to prioritize. The remaining six sections are categorized into the priority areas of continuity of learning, facilities restructuring and infection control, food security, health, supervision, and housing/safety. These sections each provide questions that guide school leaders to think through how to equitably meet the needs of students from disadvantaged groups as schools consider reopening plans. Each section is intended to stand alone, allowing schools the opportunity to “drill down” in areas that are most relevant to their specific school and student community. Each section also includes “News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses” to highlight measures various school districts are taking to address their student, family, and staff needs during the reopening process.
Introduction: A Note About School Reopenings and Equity
COVID-19 school closures have negatively impacted all K-12 students across the United States. Despite this universally detrimental impact, it is important to acknowledge that not all students have been affected equally. Students from disadvantaged groups, including students from low-income families and students of color, have faced compounded threats to their physical, emotional, and educational wellbeing during school closures, and have the most at stake as schools grapple with the difficult questions about how and when to reopen.
Before COVID-19 school closures, students from disadvantaged groups were more likely to struggle in school and have higher rates of serious health conditions.
There are many reasons why these students had more chronic absenteeism, lower baseline performance scores and high school graduation rates, and poorer health than their peers, but most of these reasons can be traced to structural injustices in the basic fabric of social life.
These baseline academic and health inequities have all been exacerbated by COVID-19 school closures.
Inadequate and unfamiliar technology, limited access to school-based health and food services, and, in some cases, unsafe households have left students exposed to many threats and harms that are usually blunted by vital school supports. As a consequence, the inequity gap on multiple measures of child wellbeing has widened.
As schools look to reopening and recovery, it is once again students from disadvantaged groups who will bear the brunt of the burden.
They will be returning to schools with fewer resources and poorer infrastructure. As a result, it will be more challenging for these schools to implement the proposed safety and health guidelines, such as smaller class sizes, frequent cleaning of school facilities, and mental health supports that have been suggested by various organizations (Appendix 1 and 2).
A critical step in addressing the equity issues posed by school reopenings is engaging stakeholders in ongoing conversations about what could and should be done to narrow the gap in impact of COVID-19 school closures and, at minimum, lessen the risks that these particularly hard-hit students will again suffer disproportionately as school returns. Without adequately addressing reopening issues for our most vulnerable students, we face the perpetuation of this inequity cycle, both during the 2020-21 academic year and beyond.
Purpose of the Equity Checklist
This K-12 School Reopening Checklist is intended to serve as a guide to help schools develop comprehensive plans at each stage of the reopening process. The Checklist incorporates an equity lens, to specifically consider the needs of students of poverty and students of color. There are other students who are disproportionately burdened by school closures, including students with special education needs, and students with physical, social, or emotional disabilities. Although we focus in particular on students of poverty and students of color, much of this information may also be relevant to other students disproportionately burdened by school closures for other reasons.
Given the variation in state and local responses to COVID-19, and in school resources, schools cannot and should not all respond in the same manner. Recognizing that schools will vary in the issues they face, available resources, and budgetary restrictions, we offer general guidance about how to equitably support schools wherever they may be in the reopening process: the traditional classroom setting, remote instruction, or a hybrid of both.
There is widespread agreement that students need to receive continuous instruction. Beyond instruction, schools are important community resource centers. They often provide food, health services, and housing support to students. The challenge for administrators is how to best balance the current uncertainty about the course of the pandemic and determine the best approach to deliver these resources in a way that equitably meets the health and educational needs of all students. Schools must make decisions with the recognition that as knowledge about COVID-19 changes, policies must be adapted accordingly.
Budget cuts, staff turnover, and subpar physical environments will present challenges to the reopening process. Significant investment must come from federal and state governments to support schools in these efforts, particularly those already under-resourced. If not, school reopenings will simply be yet another way the education system is failing our poorest, most vulnerable students.
Section One. School Snapshot: At-Risk Populations and School Reopenings
Student Population
CONTINUITY OF LEARNING
- How many students have been out-of-contact with teachers or school administration for some or most of the closure?
- What were the primary methods of record-keeping for missing students?
- How many or what percentage of students were chronically absent during the COVID-19 school closure?
- How many students continued learning with packets only?
- How many students are at risk of dropout or in need of academic interventions for progression?
- How many students reside in areas where broadband access is inconsistent or nonexistent?
- How many students are ESL learners?
- How many students have learning or other disabilities that require accommodations in the school setting?
ENGAGEMENT
- What ways have students been engaged in decisions about reopening?
- What percentage of students have been engaged in the decisions about reopening?
FOOD SECURITY
- How many students are eligible for direct certification, FARMS (free and reduced meals), and/or are economically disadvantaged?
- What percentage of students participated in food giveaways or meal distributions?
- Are there students newly eligible for FARMS or direct certification?
HEALTH
- What percentage of students regularly interact with the health office on a routine basis (e.g. medication administration)?
- How many students routinely receive somatic or behavioral health services in the school setting?
• Have these students received any school-based health services during the school closure?
- How many students reside in a dwelling where an occupant has been diagnosed with COVID-19?
- What proportion of students live in zip codes with high caseloads of COVID-19?
- How many students required home learning services for a health or other reason before schools were closed?
SUPERVISION
- How many students have parents who are essential workers?
- What plans have parents put in place to provide for supervision if they are essential workers?
- Have schools prioritized these students for outreach to evaluate their supervision circumstances?
HOUSING SAFETY
- How many students are homeless or otherwise considered unstably housed?
- How many students are at risk of becoming homeless because of familial job losses?
- How many students cannot be currently located?
• Will this affect their ability to reliably get to school?
• Is there a way to get updated addresses for these students?
- How many students live in households with individuals at higher risk of contracting COVID-19? For example, with older adults (e.g. grandparents) or other individuals with chronic health conditions (e.g. heart or lung conditions, cancer, etc.).
Parent Population
- Does the school have current parent/guardian contact information for all students?
- What percentage of parents have work schedules that may potentially preclude staggered start/end times to the school day?
- What percentage of parents will need daycare options for their child if there are staggered start/end times to the school day?
- What ways have parents been engaged in decisions about reopening?
- What percentage of parents have been engaged in the decisions about reopening?
School Staffing (Administrators, Teachers, and Support Staff)
- What percentage of school staff did not have consistent access to high-speed internet for the duration of the school closures?
- What percentage of school staff had self-identified preexisting conditions before COVID-19 that impacted their capacity to teach on a regular basis (e.g. on medical leave, abbreviated schedules, etc.)?
- How many school staff have been furloughed or laid-off during spring 2020 school closures?
- How many school staff retired early as a result of spring 2020 school closures?
- How many school staff are over the age of 60?
- How many school staff have self-identified as having a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease other than age?
- How many school staff are known to be pregnant?
- How many school staff have self-identified as living in households with individuals at higher risk of developing COVID-19 disease?
- Which school staff will be required to return to school?
• Will there be sufficient staff to safely teach and care for students?
• Are there substitute teachers available should any of these teachers become unavailable?
- How many school staff are able to perform their job remotely?
- Are there an adequate number of school staff to support school reopening operations?
- If new school staff will be required, what will the hiring process look like?
- What ways have teachers and school staff been engaged in decisions about reopening?
- What percentage of staff have been engaged in the decisions about reopening?
- What additional training do staff need to be successful with the reopening conditions?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
Section Two. Continuity of Learning
Learner Status After Spring 2020 School Closures
- What percentage of students were able to initially participate in distance learning during the spring 2020 closure?
- What percentage of students were able to consistently participate in distance learning during the spring 2020 closure?
- How will the school assess students’ learning levels after the closure?
- With what frequency will learner assessments be conducted?
- How will students who may have fallen behind be supported? Do current school intervention staff have the resources to support this influx of students, or will additional intervention staff need to be hired?
- How will intervention be provided to these students in a way that complies with health and safety protocols?
- Does the school have the infrastructure to potentially continue these intervention methods for the long-term? If not, what mechanisms need to be considered in order to provide long-term supports for students?
- How will the school and/or district grading policy be adjusted to meet the needs of students who may have had unequal access to learning during the closure?
Distance Learning and Hybrid Learning Experiences
- How many students have devices that support virtual learning platforms?
- How many of these devices were provided by schools?
- How many students have sufficient and reliable internet access in their household?
- How many students have access to a consistent, safe place to learn effectively at home?
- How will devices be provided or replaced for those students who no longer have them after summer 2020?
- Will content be synchronously or asynchronously taught in the classroom and virtual setting?
- Are there certain age groups or grades for which distance learning has proven more challenging from the perspective of teachers, students and parents?
- Are there variations in the efficacy of distance learning for students from disadvantaged groups (low SES, ESL, homeless students, foster care students, special needs students)?
- For students in middle and high school, which subjects have been routinely and reliably taught through distance learning? In which subjects have students not been receiving instruction?
- Will students from disadvantaged groups be given priority for devices or internet hotspots? If not, what additional resources will be provided to them to facilitate distance learning?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
May 12, 2020:
The Mercury News: Coronavirus: Relief fund established to help vulnerable WCCUSD students, families
May 14, 2020:
El Paso Times: Worried your kids will suffer ‘COVID slide’? TEA has a tool to diagnose student learning
May 18: 2020:
Education Week: 6 classroom changes teachers will make when schools reopen
May 27, 2020:
Bethesda Magazine: Coalition asks MCPS to focus on black, Hispanic students’ needs when schools reopen
June 5, 2020:
LAist: Coronavirus Could Cause A ‘Learning Loss’ Crisis. Here’s How Bad It Could Get — And What To Do About It
June 5, 2020:
The Washington Post: As countries reopen, hundreds of millions of students have returned to school
June 8, 2020:
The Detroit News: Detroit schools’ fall plan: Shorter days, smaller classes, lots of precautions
June 8, 2020:
7 News Boston: Mass. town plans to use ‘blended learning model’ if schools reopen in fall
June 9, 2020:
The Virginia Pilot: How Northam plans to reopen Virginia schools in the fall
June 10, 2020:
Clarion Ledger: MDE gives 3 options for reopening schools in Mississippi as state grapples with coronavirus
Section Three. Infection Control and Facilities/School Restructuring
Facilities Cleaning
- What is the cleaning protocol for school buildings, including frequency of cleaning?
• Are existing school janitorial staff able to clean at this frequency?
• Do schools have the means to hire additional janitorial staff if necessary?
• How will the school cleaning protocols change as a result of reopening preparations?
- For schools in which students switch classrooms (middle and high school students), will classrooms be cleaned between each period when new students enter? Will hallways require additional air flow cleaners in between classes to reduce risk of transmission?
• Who will be logistically and fiscally responsible for doing this?
• Will time for this be built into the school day?
- Does the school have access to adequate cleaning supplies?
COVID-19 Health Screening Measures
- What procedures are in place for assessing the health of students and staff before they enter the school?
• Will temperatures be taken?
• If so, how often?
• Who will take them?
• What temperature threshold will be acceptable?
- Will parents be required to submit a health questionnaire?
- What is the procedure for a child who falls ill during the school day?
- What are the communication protocols for a student who is suspected of COVID-19 infection?
- Will there be a way for students to wash hands upon entry, exit, and throughout the day?
- What is the policy about students who live with people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who are quarantining as a result of possible exposure?
- What is the procedure for a child’s return to school following confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection?
- What mechanisms are in place to ensure that student and staff privacy will be maintained?
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Will all staff or students be required to wear PPE?
• What PPE will be required?
• How often will staff and students be required to wear PPE?
• Are there adequate PPE supplies to satisfy requirements?
• Who will be responsible for purchasing masks and other PPE?
• Is there a protocol about when to wear masks (e.g. hallways, recess, cafeteria)?
• What accommodations will be made for staff or students who do not have PPE?
• What accommodations will be made for students with developmental, health, or behavioral conditions that preclude them from using a mask?
- At what frequency and at what times during the day will students be asked to wash their hands?
• How will the school schedule be structured to allow for adequate time for students to wash their hands?
• Does the school have adequate soap for hand-washing?
• Is there a contingency plan for staff to implement if the school runs out of soap?
- Will there be protocols for washing and storage of PPE?
Social Distancing
- How will the school day/week be restructured to comply with social distancing protocols?
- How will student drop-off/pick-up be managed to ensure that students do not congregate?
- How will students who switch classes (middle and high school students) be able to practice social distancing during the time they are moving from one class to the next?
- What will the protocol be for classes to travel from one location to another?
- How will recess and outdoor time be restructured to comply with social distancing protocols?
Classroom Restructuring
- How will classrooms be physically adapted to comply with social distancing protocols?
- Does the school have adequate physical space to accommodate social distancing protocols for all students?
• What proportion of the student population can the school accommodate, if not all?
School Day Restructuring
- Will students be able to return to school all at once?
- What does the schedule look like for those who are not physically in the building?
- Who is responsible for those students while they are out of the building?
- Will students’ learning be staggered, such that students attend school for fewer days a week or fewer hours a day?
• How will this schedule be determined?
• Will certain students get priority for school services? (e.g. students in unstable housing, students with limited parent supervision during school hours, etc.)
• Will there continue to be a distance learning component for students during the times when they are not at school?
- Will any before-or after-school programs be continued?
- Will school sports be continued? If so, will students who are offsite learners be allowed to participate in practices?
- Will students be required to return to school?
• What provisions will be provided to students who are unable to return to school, or whose parents keep them home, to continue learning?
• How will attendance be measured?
Planning for Full/Partial School Reopenings
- Will teachers be provided instruction about how to safely engage with students in the classroom setting?
• How will special needs and one-to-one instructors navigate this?
• How will teachers of young students navigate this?
- Will students have access to health education classes and/or programming during the school day?
- Will students have access to physical education classes and/or programming during the school day?
- Will students from disadvantaged groups be prioritized for a full-or partial-reopening?
- Does the school plan to prioritize certain age groups of students for an earlier or more complete return to school?
- Does this prioritization take into account not just learning needs but the specific needs of students from disadvantaged groups?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
June 2, 2020:
Education Week: How did COVID-19 change your teaching, for better or worse? See teachers’ responses
June 8, 2020:
Patch: Summer Schools In CT Can Reopen, But With These Restrictions
June 9, 2020:
WXXV 25: Gulfport School District Reopening Plans For 2020-2021 School Year
June 9, 2020:
WXYZ Detroit: Detroit Public Schools Community District releases reopening plan for fall 2020
June 10, 2020:
Clarion Ledger: MDE gives 3 options for reopening schools in Mississippi as state grapples with coronavirus
Section Four. Food Security
Planning for Full/Partial School Reopenings
- How many meals will be provided to students while they are at school?
• How will these meals be distributed to students?
- If schools have alternate times or staggered schedules, will all groups of students be offered the same meals at school?
- How will schools provide students with meals they do not receive during their staggered school day?
- How will student snack and lunch times be modified to comply with social distancing protocols? Who will supervise students during these times?
- How will meals be available to students who are participating in distance learning, part-time or full-time?
• How many meals will be available for students?
• Will meals be distributed or available for pick-up?
• If meal pick-up will be occurring:
• What days/times are meals available?
• Will meal pick-up times be accessible to all families, including students who rely on public transportation, students who live farther away, and students whose parents work during the school day?
- Who will be staffing the meal pick-up or delivery service?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
Section Five. Health Services
Physical Health Services
- If the school did not have a full time healthcare provider before the closures, will the school attain a full-time healthcare provider for the school?
- How will schools assess if there have been any changes to the health status and treatment plans of students with chronic health conditions?
- Will health services (school nursing, school-based health center services) be provided to students during the school day when they are at school?
• What safety and social distancing protocols will be adopted?
- Will all health services that were provided in schools before the closure continue to be provided in some capacity?
• If so, will any practices need to be modified to comply with health and safety protocols?
• If not, will resources be provided to families about how they can access these services in the community?
- If schools have alternate times or staggered schedules, how will school-based health services be delivered?
- How will school-administered medication be managed? Will there be any changes to the medication administration process for these students?
- Will staff providing clinical care be providing any telemedicine?
- What third-party health providers were providing services to students before the closure (e.g. vision exams, dental care)?
- How will third-party providers continue providing services to students?
• Will there need to be any changes to the service schedule or operations?
- What outreach mechanisms will be in place for students regarding routine immunizations needed for school entry?
- Will there be a waiver for any pre-school physical exam requirements (excluding immunizations)?
- Is there a potential to have pre-school immunization clinics?
- How will state-mandated health screenings (e.g. hearing and vision) be addressed?
Speech/Language, Occupation and Physical Therapy Services
- Will students who receive services like speech/language or occupational therapy be able to continue these services at schools or through teletherapy? How will providers assess the impact of school closures on students’ progress in these areas?
- Are there additional barriers that students receiving these services will face as they navigate a potentially shortened or modified school day?
- Can students receive services in the school building on days when they are not scheduled to be there?
Mental Health Services
- How will schools assess if there have been any changes to the mental health status and treatment plans of students with mental health conditions?
- Will mental health services be provided to students during the school day when they are at school? What safety and social distancing protocols will be adopted?
- Will all mental health services that were provided in schools before the closure continue to be provided in some capacity?
• If so, will any practices need to be modified to comply with health and safety protocols?
• If not, will resources be provided to families about how they can access these services in the community?
- If schools have alternate times or staggered schedules, how will school-based mental health services be delivered?
- Will there be resources provided on anxiety management, grief counseling, COVID-19 stress coping, and mindfulness?
• Will all students have access to these materials? Is parent consent required to participate?
- How will mental health services be adapted to provide extra support to students who have had setbacks during the pandemic?
- How will social and emotional learning programs be adapted to help students process the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Will there be community resources available to share with students to meet these wellness needs?
- What mental health supports will be available to students who are unable to return to the school setting?
- How will school-based mental health clinicians manage caring for students who are in school, as well as those participating in distance learning, or a hybrid of the two?
- Will school-based mental health clinicians be providing mental health care by telemedicine?
Teacher Wellness
- What social and emotional resources will be available for teachers feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or at risk of burnout?
- What mechanisms will be in place in case a teacher is unable to continue in-person instruction or is on extended leave?
- How will school administrators address the mental health needs of staff?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
May 20, 2020:
The New York Times: Child Vaccinations Plummet 63 Percent, a New Hurdle for N.Y.C. Schools
June 2, 2020:
Education Week: How did COVID-19 change your teaching, for better or worse? See teachers’ responses
June 3, 2020:
WDEL: Mental health on the mind of Delaware’s School Reopening Work Group
June 15, 2020:
Section Six. Supervision
Supervision for Distance Learning
- What percentage of students are not likely to have an adult in the home for at least part of the school day?
- Is the school providing any space if students do not have supervision in the home?
- Is the school providing information to parents and caregivers about local resources for student supervision if students are not in school for the full day?
- Are there community organizations available to provide childcare to families who need it?
- Are school staff regularly checking-in with students who they know to be at risk of low supervision?
Extraordinary Circumstances
- Are there resources for students who may have a family member affected by COVID-19?
- Is there a mechanism for communication within the school if a student has a family member affected with COVID-19?
- If students experience the death of a caregiver, is there a mechanism to know whether this child enters the child welfare system?
School-Based Supervision Programs
- Will before- and after- school programs be restarted?
• If so, how will they be adapted to comply with new safety and social distancing protocols?
• Will all students be eligible to participate in these programs or only a subset of the student population?
• Will any priority be given to students who have limited home supervision or are in unstable housing?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
Section Seven. Housing/Safety
Unstable Housing Conditions
- Will any priority be given to students who live in unstable housing conditions for full-time return to school?
- For distance learning, what services will be provided to ensure unstably housed students have devices and internet needed for distance learning?
Transportation To/From School
- Will there be reliable ways for students to get to school?
- Will school buses be operational?
- How many students can be reliably seated on a bus with social distancing?
- Will school routes need to be adjusted for social distancing pick-ups?
• How will school bus routes be adapted to comply with social distancing?
• How often will buses be cleaned?
- Will drivers and students be required to wear masks or other PPE?
- For districts that rely on public transportation for students, will capacity be increased to allow for social distancing?
News Coverage of On-the-Ground Responses
Contributors
Annette Anderson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins School of Education
Deputy Director, Center for Safe and Healthy Schools
Anne Barnhill, PhD
Associate Faculty, Research Scholar
Berman Institute of Bioethics
Megan Collins, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Wilmer Eye Institute
Berman Institute of Bioethics
Co-Director, Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions
Ruth Faden, PhD, MPH
Founder, Berman Institute of Bioethics
Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics
Emily Faxon, MHS
Education Policy Analyst
Sara Johnson, MPH, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
Department of Mental Health
Co-Director, Rales Center for the Integration of Health and Education
Co-Director, Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions
Alice Liu, BA
Research Assistant
Wilmer Eye Institute
Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions
Beth Marshall, MPH, DrPH
Assistant Scientist
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Associate Director, Center for Adolescent Health
Chris Morphew, PhD
Dean
Johns Hopkins School of Education
Alan Regenberg, MBe
Associate Faculty Member
Director of Outreach and Research Support
Berman Institute of Bioethics
Madison Wahl, BA
Research Assistant
Wilmer Eye Institute
Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions