Education Week - March 24, 2021 - 2

States Must Give Tests
To Students This Year,
Cardona Emphasizes

Susan Walsh/AP

Despite all the entreaties, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has not had a change of heart.
The Department of Education is not going to entertain
states' requests to cancel standardized exams for this
school year.
His comments came last week as the Biden administration detailed $10 billion in new funding to support
COVID-19 testing in schools, notified states of the
K-12 relief funds they would receive through the new
American Rescue Plan, and set the date for a school
reopening summit this week.
" This spring, we're wanting to see schools reopen "
with appropriate health and safety measures in place,
Cardona said in a call with reporters. He stressed that
students benefit in many ways from attending school
in person, engaging in activities beyond academic
instruction.
" I just know that school reopening is about creating
those opportunities for students, " he said.
The education secretary also said he expects schools
to reopen for in-person learning in the fall.
Cardona's comments came the same day the Education Department announced it planned to host a summit on reopening schools safely on March 24. The summit was to feature Cardona, First Lady Jill Biden, and
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director
Rochelle Walensky. Sessions were to focus on lessons
from the field, technical assistance to implementing
CDC guidance, and addressing students' social-emotional and academic needs in an equitable way.
A month ago, the department issued guidance about
state exams that indicated states will have to give the
federally mandated tests for this school year, although
it left the door open for " flexibility. "
Last week, Cardona said the department's advisory
to states " is the guidance that we're going with moving forward on assessments. " That guidance also notes
that states have the ability to shorten exams, administer them remotely, or give them in the summer or fall
as well as this spring.
Some states had pushed to get waivers this spring for
a second straight year because of challenges to assessing students imposed by the pandemic. Even after the
department's guidance on Feb. 22-before Cardona
was sworn in-some state officials hadn't given up their
efforts to get blanket waivers or find other loopholes
around giving traditional state tests.

Coming Soon

CDC Now Says 3 Feet of Distance Sufficient
For Distancing Among Students, With Caveats
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased
its recommendations for social distancing in K-12 schools, saying 3 feet of space between students who are wearing masks is
a sufficient safeguard for safety in most classroom situations.
Many educators and policymakers viewed the agency's previous recommendation of 6 feet of space as a major hurdle to
a full return to in-person school during the COVID-19 pandemic. And some feared the more-rigid guideline could affect schools' ability to return to fuller in-person operations
in the fall.
The major change in CDC recommendations last week
comes a little more than a month after the agency released updated guidance, seeking to regain credibility and consistency
in its messaging to schools under the newly formed Biden administration. CDC leaders pointed to new research that suggested 3 feet of space may be effective to justify the shift.
Six feet of space is still necessary in middle schools and high
schools in communities with high transmission rates unless
schools can group students in small cohorts that remain to-

Schools, Camps Prepare for Summer of Learning
To Help Pandemic-Weary Students Catch Up
For students, one of the joys of spring is knowing summer break
is right around the corner. This year, they need to think again.
After a dreary year spent largely at home in front of the computer, many children could be looking at summer school.
Experts say that after a year of interrupted study, it's crucial to
do at least some sort of learning over the break, even, say, if it's
incorporated into traditional camp offerings.
Several governors, including those in California, Kansas, and
Virginia, are pushing for more summer learning. And some states
are considering extending their 2021-22 academic year or starting
the fall semester early. Many cities, meanwhile, are talking about

beefing up their summer school programs, including Atlanta, Los
Angeles, and Hartford, Conn.
The new $1.9 trillion coronavirus-relief package should help,
as it allocates $122 billion in aid to K-12 public schools, including
$30 billion specifically for summer school, after school, and other
enrichment programs.
Keri Rodrigues, a co-founder of the advocacy group the National Parents Union, said her children have floundered with remote learning. " We need to access where our kids are, determine
what they need, and then get to work right away and not just put it
off for three months, " she said.

gether throughout the school day to limit risk of transmission
across larger groups of students, the CDC says in its updated
recommendations.
Adults should also maintain 6 feet of space from each other
and from students, the recommendations say. And 6 feet of
space is still necessary in common areas, like lobbies; in situations where masks can't be worn, such as meal times; and
when " increased exhalation occurs, " like during sports, choir
and band rehearsals, and exercise.
It's unclear how much the revision will help more schools
open. Some schools had opted to remain in remote learning or in hybrid learning modes when they couldn't find adequate space in their buildings for the previous recommendations. But many others have adhered more closely to state
guidelines, some of which departed from the CDC on issues
like distancing.
And some school districts have already committed to 6 feet
of distancing in agreements with teachers' unions and staff
organizations.

Engaging poor children should be a priority, educators say.
Summer has traditionally been one of the most inequitable times
in education, with kids from upper- and middle-income households getting to attend camps or take part in other enrichment
activities that often aren't an option for poorer ones, said Aaron
Dworkin, the CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. He envisions summer programs offered through the YMCA
or municipal park districts using the federal funding to expand
their typical offerings.
Tom Rosenberg, the president and CEO of the American Camp
Association, said more scholarships will be available to help lowerincome students attend camp. Most camps already provide academics, he said, but camp also provides nonacademic benefits
that are particularly important after a year of social distancing.
" I think there is a lot of anxiety right now about just being near
their peers, " he said.

BRIEFLY STATED CONTRIBUTORS: Associated Press, Evie Blad, Mark Lieberman, Sarah D. Sparks, Tribune News Service, and Andrew Ujifusa. Edited by Karen Diegmueller.
2 | EDUCATION WEEK | March 24, 2021 | www.edweek.org

First lady Jill Biden
speaks to a student
during her visit last
week to Christa
McAuliffe School in
Concord, N.H. The first
lady, who is an
educator, is on tour,
along with President
Joe Biden, Vice
President Kamala
Harris, and her
husband, Doug
Emhoff, to promote the
$1.9 trillion COVID-relief
package, which
includes funds for
schools.

http://www.edweek.org

Education Week - March 24, 2021

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