In spring 2020, the Office of Educational Technology (OET) hosted a series of listening sessions with state leaders--from state educational agencies (SEAs), state broadband offices, state libraries, and state economic development agencies--to identify what digital equity issues were magnified as a result of school closings, what immediate actions…

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the U.S. Department of Education made available almost $3 billion for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER). Governors across the nation must be strategic with their use of GEER funds to support education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief…

Families have been faced with new challenges and uncertainties during the unprecedented times when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19 in March 2020. The pandemic caused a shut-down of schools and a shift to a remote learning environment with little chance to prepare and understand learning expectations from schools and other…

Across the country, school buildings remain closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. These school closures are a stark reminder of the important role that schools can play in the lives of children and young adults. For many students, schools are a place of stability, where they can learn, grow, and nurture relationships. They are even a source of…

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has exacerbated existing inequities and inadequacies across a range of social structures, including our nation's education system. The pandemic has also had a more damaging impact on communities and people of color, including many who already faced health challenges. Congress has provided significant federal…

As the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the families of English learners (ELs) have experienced disproportionate distress with the shuttering of schools and the economic crisis. The reality of what many EL and immigrant families have faced during the pandemic must be incorporated at the outset into any planning for the reopening of…

Nothing in these past three months was in the training manual. Not in formal education, probably not in lived experience, and certainly not faced by the system as a whole. This document contains the initial fall reopening guidance by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). This guidance is grounded first and foremost…

President Biden is committed to seeking and providing the necessary resources to support the safe operation of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and addressing the ongoing impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students, adult education students, faculty, and staff. In Volume 3 of this Handbook, a series to support…

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as of this writing, 21 states and three U.S. territories have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, with closures impacting at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affecting at least 55.1 million students. In addition, districts in nearly all other states…