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School responses in Missouri to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

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Responses by state


As students returned to school for the 2021-2022 school year, states set a variety of policies on education and the COVID-19 pandemic, including how schools should open to in-person instruction and whether students and staff would be required to wear masks. By the end of the 2020-2021 school year, about 66% of students nationwide were in states that left closure decisions to schools or districts, 33% were in states with state-ordered in-person instruction, and 1% were in states with state-ordered regional school closures.[1][2] All 50 states closed schools to in-person instruction at some point during the 2019-2020 school year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This article summarizes responses to the coronavirus in Missouri schools in the academic years ending in 2020, 2021, and 2022. You will find:


Ballotpedia’s coverage of COVID-19 includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and how those responses are influencing election rules and operations, political campaigns, the economy, schools, and more.

This page is updated monthly, but our email is always open. We encourage you to share updates from local officials, policymakers, and campaigns in your community at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Timeline by school year

Below is a list of major events involving schools in Missouri during the coronavirus pandemic between 2019 and 2022, including school closings and openings, mask requirements, and the release of statewide operating guidance. Know of something we missed? Click here to email us and let us know.

2021-2022 school year

  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported three in-person schooling disruptions in Missouri.[3][4]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Missouri .[5][6]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported about half of schools were in-person in Missouri .[7][8]
  • July 14, 2020: The Missouri Department of Education released guidance for reopening schools. Recommendations included screening students and faculty for symptoms, limiting students and faculty to the same group of people every day (cohorting), and requesting students and faculty wear masks.[9]
  • June 9, 2020: Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven announced fall reopenings for schools would occur at the discretion of county and school board officials.[10]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 9, 2020: Gov. Mike Parson (R) closed schools for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were closed through April 24.[11]
  • April 3, 2020: As part of a stay-at-home order issued by Parson, the statewide school closure scheduled to end April 3 was extended through April 24.[12]
  • March 19, 2020: Parson announced that all schools across the state had temporarily closed. Parsons did not issue a statewide closure, but said all local districts had chosen to close.[13] The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education later announced that schools would not reopen until at least April 6.[14]

Mask and vaccine requirements in the 2021-2022 school year

Mask requirements in schools

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

As of August 1, 2022, no states had school mask requirements in effect. Forty-two states left mask requirements in schools up to local authorities. Seven states banned school mask requirements.

The table below shows statewide school mask requirement laws and orders in states with school mask requirements or school mask requirement bans in place at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Mask requirement orders
State Ban or requirement? Type of order Date lifted or altered
Arizona Ban Legislative action N/A
Arkansas Ban Legislative action Sept. 30, 2021 - Suspended by court action
California Requirement California Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Connecticut Requirement Executive order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Delaware Requirement Executive order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Florida Ban Executive order N/A[15]
Georgia Ban Legislative action N/A
Hawaii Requirement Executive order Aug. 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Illinois Requirement Illinois Department of Public Health order Feb. 4, 2022 - Suspended by court action[16]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[17]
Kentucky Requirement Kentucky Board of Education order Sept. 9, 2021 - Suspended by state law
Louisiana Requirement Executive order Feb. 16, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[18]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[19]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[20]
Nevada Requirement Executive order Feb. 10, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Jersey Requirement Executive order March 7, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New Mexico Requirement New Mexico Public Education Department order Feb. 17, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
New York Requirement Executive order March 3, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Oklahoma Ban Executive order N/A
Oregon Requirement Oregon Health Authority and Department of Education order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
Pennsylvania Requirement Pennsylvania Department of Health order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Rhode Island Requirement Executive order March 4, 2022 - Lifted by executive action
South Carolina Ban Legislative action Sept. 28, 2021 - Temporarily suspended by court action
Tennessee Ban Executive order Dec. 10, 2021 - Suspended by court action
Texas Ban Executive order N/A[21]
Utah Ban Legislative action N/A
Virginia Ban Legislative action N/A
Washington Requirement Washington State Department of Public Health order March 12, 2022 - Lifted by executive action

School mask requirements over time

School mask bans over time


Teacher and school employee vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

Seven states had issued a statewide requirement for K-12 teachers and staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or receive regular coronavirus testing during the 2021-2022 school year. The table below shows teacher and staff vaccine requirement laws and orders in states that issued such policies during the 2021-2022 school year.

Vaccine requirement orders
State Testing instead of vaccination allowed? Type of order Date effective
California Yes California Department of Public Health order Oct. 15, 2021
Connecticut No Executive order Sept. 27, 2021
Delaware Yes Executive order Nov. 1, 2021
Illinois Yes Executive order Issued: Sept. 19, 2021
Suspended by court action on Feb. 4, 2022
New Jersey Yes Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
New York Yes Executive order Sept. 19, 2021
Oregon No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021
Washington No Executive order Oct. 18, 2021


Student vaccine requirements

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2021-2022 academic year

On Oct. 1, 2021, California was the first state to announce a vaccine requirement for eligible students. Louisiana also announced a vaccine requirement for eligible students on Dec. 14, but then announced the state would be removing the coronavirus vaccine from the list of required immunizations in schools on May 18, 2022.

School reopenings and closures (2020-2021 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year

Initial school year operating plan

See also: Documenting America's Path to Recovery: August 7, 2020

Missouri released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on July 9, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on August 7. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

On July 9, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) issued Missouri School Reopening Guidance Frequently Asked Health-Related COVID-19 Questions. The FAQ clarifies and expands the initial guidance released in May. The FAQ was last updated on Aug. 3.

The initial guidance was released with the assistance of the Missouri School Boards Association and titled Pandemic Recovery Considerations: Re-Entry and Reopening of Schools. It says “The intent of this document is to create a template to guide local discussion regarding reopening schools and is not a ‘one size, fits all’ document.” Both the FAQ and Pandemic Recovery Considerations emphasize that Missouri does not have a centralized plan for reopening schools, leaving decisions about how to reopen to local counties and school boards.

On July 10, Gov. Mike Parson (R) said, “I talked to some of the school administrators, the teachers, the students. I don’t think there’s any question in the state of Missouri – we’ve got to get the schools opened back up and we’ve got to get the kids back to school. There’s a lot of things that occur by not having them in school that can be far worse than going in there and fighting a virus.”

Missouri school districts are required to open by Aug. 24 but can apply for a waiver from the DESE to push that date back. According to EdWeek, public schools in Missouri traditionally start the academic year in late August.

On March 19, Gov. Parson announced all school districts had chosen to temporarily close, but that he had not issued a statewide closure. Later, the DESE announced schools would not reopen until at least April 6. On April 3, Parson issued a stay-at-home order that extended the closure through April 24. Parson closed schools for the remainder of the academic year on April 9.

Context

Missouri has a Republican trifecta. The governor is a Republican, and Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. It has been a Republican trifecta since 2017.

The following tables show public education statistics in Missouri, including a rank comparing it to the other 49 states. Rank one is the highest number of each figure, rank 50 is the lowest. All data comes from the Common Core of Data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Missouri school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $12,228 32
Number of students (18-19) 908,331 19
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 67,926 14
Number of public schools (18-19) 2,452 12
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 13.3 39
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 52.7% 16


Missouri school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $10,927,026,000 20
Federal revenue percent 9% 25
State revenue percent 32.5% 47
Local revenue percent 58.5% 4

Details

District reopening plans

Reopening plans have been left up to individual counties and school boards. Local schools and local jurisdictions are allowed to implement measures that are more or less stringent than the DESE recommends.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning

The DESE gives schools districts latitude to decide which model of learning to adopt. For example, St. Louis area school districts have varied widely, with some deciding on fully in-person, some fully online, and some hybrid. Additionally, some districts have offered parents the choice between two or more of these models.

Mask requirements

The DESE has not issued a mask requirement for schools. The FAQ recommends face coverings for all age groups whenever students are not in a cohort or are unable to physically distance. Continuous use of masks is not suggested for young children but is for older children. Masks are also recommended while riding the bus. The FAQ recommends adult staff wear masks at all times when social distancing isn’t possible.

In-person health recommendations and requirements

While the state has issued no mask requirements for schools, the DESE has offered several recommendations:

Schools should encourage parents to screen children at home, and those with symptoms should not attend school and consult healthcare providers about returning to school. Those diagnosed with COVID-19 should be allowed to return to school after 10 days, including three days without fever. Schools should monitor children for visual signs of infection, and limit outside visitors.

Physical distancing of three to six feet is suggested, with students assigned to cohorts, staying with the same group of students and adults during the entire day. Cohorts should not mix whenever possible. Desks should all face the same direction, physical distancing markers and cues should be placed throughout the building, and hand hygiene should be required when moving from one space to another.

Any student or staff member who becomes symptomatic while at school should be isolated and wear a medical-grade mask until no longer in the building. A space separate from the nurses' office should be set aside to isolate anyone feeling or appearing ill. In the case of a positive test, the school should work with local public health authorities to determine guidance and direction for contact tracing and potential quarantine.

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions

  • Screening of COVID-19 symptoms at home prior to getting on the bus.
  • Encouraging hand hygiene upon boarding the bus.
  • Assigning students to seats so contacts are stable.
  • Seating siblings together.
  • Loading the bus from back to front.
  • Encouraging the use of face masks during transport.
  • Having windows open when safe and weather-permitting.
  • Providing bus drivers and monitors onboard with personal protective equipment, such as face masks and face shields and/or eye protection, as long as these do not impair driving.
  • The use of plexiglass or another barrier around the school bus driver area is currently pending approval by the Federal Highway and Traffic Safety Administration.

Responses

On Aug. 3, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said, “At some point, we need to just put our heads down and say we’re gonna get through it, and we definitely need to send our kids back to school.” Ashcroft said he didn’t “know a father alive that wouldn’t risk getting COVID, even risk dying, to make sure that his children had the greatest foundation for success for their life they could have.” The Missouri State Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, released a statement on July 17 detailing steps they believe are necessary to reopen schools. Their points stress the transparency of the process and involvement of local public health agencies, teachers, and parents, without explicitly supporting one model of learning over another.

Map of school closures

The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year.

As of July 8, 2021, the status of school closures and reopenings was as follows:

  • Two states (Delaware, Hawaii) and Washington, D.C. had state-ordered regional school closures, required closures for certain grade levels, or allowed hybrid instruction only.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 410,896 students (0.81% of students nationwide)
  • Thirteen states had state-ordered in-person instruction.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 15,697,460 students (30.96% of students nationwide)
  • One state (Arizona) had state-ordered in-person instruction for certain grades.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 1,152,586 students (2.27% of students nationwide)
  • Thirty-four states left decisions to schools or districts.
    • 2019-20 enrollment: 33,449,499 students (65.96% of students nationwide)



School reopenings and closures (2019-2020 academic year)

See also: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2019-2020 academic year


The map below shows the status of school reopenings and closures at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

  • States closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 48
  • Number of public school students in states closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year: 50,261,464


The chart below shows the first date schools in a state were closed to in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 academic year, divided by the political party of the governor.

School responses by state

To read about school responses to the coronavirus pandemic in others states, click one of the following links below:

General resources

The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.

Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Number of operating public schools and districts, student membership, teachers, and pupil/teacher ratio, by state or jurisdiction: School year 2019–20," accessed September 10, 2021
  2. ↑ EducationWeek, "Map: Where Were Schools Required to Be Open for the 2020-21 School Year?," June 14, 2021
  3. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  4. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  5. ↑ Burbio rated Missouri's in-person index at 90.4. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  6. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 8, 2021
  7. ↑ Burbio rated Missouri's in-person index between 40-60. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  8. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 8, 2021
  9. ↑ FOX 2, "Missouri releases guidelines schools may follow for reopening," July 14, 2020
  10. ↑ KY3, "Reopening Missouri schools will be up to districts and counties, not state," June 9, 2020
  11. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Governor: Missouri schools will not reopen this spring," April 9, 2020
  12. ↑ Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, "Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information," accessed April 6, 2020
  13. ↑ Springfield News-Leader, "All Missouri public schools temporarily closed, Governor Parson says," March 19, 2020
  14. ↑ Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, "DESE-Related Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information," accessed March 27, 2020
  15. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  16. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  17. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  18. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  19. ↑ Dec. 7, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they met one of the three following criteria: 1) the county vaccination rate was 80% or higher, 2) 80% of school staff and students were vaccinated, or 3) COVID-19 transmission in the county was considered moderate or low for 14 straight days.
  20. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  21. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
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