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6 Recommendations and Urgent Research
Pages 69-76

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From page 69...
... These decisions are made more difficult by the lack of definitive evidence about transmission in children or about which mitigation measures are most effective for limiting the spread of the virus in schools. Recognizing these challenges and the difficult choices faced by education leaders, the committee offers a set of eight recommendations intended both to provide guidance as leaders make these choices and to serve as a call to action for other stakeholders to provide support for educators in this difficult time.
From page 70...
... To make returning to work a safe and desirable option, stakeholders will need to take the health and safety concerns of teachers and staff seriously. Recommendation 3: Partnerships Between School Districts and Public Health Officials Local public health officials should partner with districts to • assess the readiness of school facilities to ensure that they meet the minimum health and safety standards necessary to support COVID-19 mitigation strategies; • consult on proposed plans for mitigating the spread of COVID-19; • develop a protocol for monitoring data on the virus in order to (a)
From page 71...
... Yet public health expertise is necessary for making the myriad ongoing decisions described in this report, and it is incumbent upon states to ensure that this need is addressed. Recommendation 5: Decision-Making Coalitions State and local decision-makers and education leaders should develop a mechanism, such as a local task force, that allows for input from representatives of school staff, families, local health officials, and other community interests to inform decisions related to reopening schools.
From page 72...
... As this report discusses throughout, decisions around reopening schools are occurring in the context of a deeply inequitable public school system. Unless school districts directly address equity in their planning process, reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly exacerbate existing disparities in educational access and outcomes.
From page 73...
... Further, in order to equitably support districts and schools, states should not withhold funds or otherwise penalize districts if families choose remote or distance learning options for their children in Fall 2020. Recommendation 8: High-Priority Mitigation Strategies Based on what is currently known about the spread of COVID-19, districts should prioritize mask wearing, providing healthy hand hygiene solutions, physical distancing, and limiting large gatherings.
From page 74...
... public schools is n ­ otoriously poor, which can have innumerable deleterious health impacts on students and staff. However, because there is not yet scientific consensus on the role of airborne transmission in the spread of the virus, it is also unclear how the indoor air quality of schools matters in the spread of COVID-19.
From page 75...
... The committee also suggests that as schools reopen to in-person learning in Fall 2020, researchers lever ­ age the occasion to conduct research in real time, and provide guidance as soon as it becomes available.


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