Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers
The order directs the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to provide evidence-based guidance, data collection, and technical assistance to help K-12 schools, child care providers, Head Start programs, and colleges safely reopen and operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Establishes a cross-agency framework aimed at reducing pandemic-driven learning loss and addressing educational disparities — particularly along racial and socioeconomic lines — by coordinating federal resources, guidance, and data sharing down to state and local levels.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Secretary of Education to issue evidence-based guidance on safe in-person learning, create a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse, direct the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to report on COVID-19's disparate impacts on students, and coordinate data collection on pandemic impacts disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability status, and income. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is directed to facilitate data sharing for school reopening, ensure equitable allocation of COVID-19 testing materials to schools and child care providers, support state-level contact tracing programs, issue guidance for child care and Head Start programs, and provide technical assistance for distributing federal relief funds to child care providers. Both secretaries must jointly submit a report on strategies to address COVID-19's impact on educational outcomes.
The order does not itself create new binding rules for schools, families, or employers, and it expressly states that it creates no enforceable legal rights or benefits. Implementation is subject to the availability of appropriations, and the Federal Communications Commission is only encouraged — not directed — to expand broadband access for students in remote-learning situations.
Who it affects
K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, child care providers, and Head Start programs nationwide; state, local, Tribal, and territorial education and public health officials who receive federal guidance and resources; and students and families — especially those in lower-income and minority communities facing heightened disruption.
Why it matters
School administrators and public health officials at every level of government gain a coordinated federal guidance structure and access to disaggregated data to inform reopening decisions. Students in underserved communities are specifically called out as a focus for equitable allocation of testing supplies and targeted policy strategies.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
Both secretaries operate in coordination with the COVID-19 Response Coordinator and the Domestic Policy Advisor, who receive the joint report on educational outcome strategies. HHS's supply allocation is coordinated with that Coordinator and other relevant agencies. The Education Department's data-collection effort runs through the Institute of Education Sciences. No enforcement mechanism is specified — the order relies on agency coordination and reporting obligations rather than penalties for noncompliance. The FCC provision is advisory only.
Actions and deadlines
- Provide evidence-based guidance to states and K-12 schools on safe in-person learning and mitigation measures
- Provide evidence-based guidance to institutions of higher education on safely reopening for in-person learning
- Develop a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse for sharing pandemic operating lessons
- Direct the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to deliver a report on COVID-19's disparate impacts on students
- Coordinate with the Institute of Education Sciences to collect pandemic-impact data disaggregated by student demographics
- Facilitate collection and public availability of data needed to inform safe reopening of schools and child care providers
- Ensure equitable allocation of COVID-19 testing materials to schools, child care providers, and Head Start programs
- Submit joint report to Domestic Policy Advisor and COVID-19 Response Coordinator on strategies to address pandemic's impact on educational outcomes