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School responses in Arizona 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 Arizona 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 Arizona 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

  • April 25, 2022: Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a bill into law banning schools from requiring masks without parental consent. It was set to take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourned.[3]
  • Sept. 26, 2021: Arizona Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ruled Arizona’s school mask requirement ban was unconstitutional and could not be enforced. The school mask requirement ban had been previously scheduled to take effect on Sept. 29.[4]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported four in-person schooling disruptions in Arizona.[5][6]
  • Aug. 16, 2021:
    • Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said he would withhold school grants taken from federal coronavirus relief funds from schools that implemented mask requirements.[7]
    • Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner ruled that a state law banning school mask requirements would not take effect until Sept. 29.[7]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Arizona .[8][9]
  • March 15, 2021: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) executive order requiring public schools to offer in-person instruction took effect March 15. High schools and middle schools in high-transmission counties were exempt from the order. Parents could still keep their children in virtual classes.[10]
  • March 3, 2021: Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order requiring public schools to offer in-person instruction by March 15. High schools and middle schools in high transmission counties were exempt from the order. Parents could still keep their children in virtual classes.[11]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were using virtual or hybrid learning in Arizona.[12][13]
  • August 17, 2020: Schools in Arizona were officially allowed to reopen to in-person instruction if they met metrics the state Department of Health released the week of Aug. 3. For a district to reopen, its county needed to have a two-week drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, a two-week period where the percent of positive cases was below 7%, and less than 10% of hospital visits were COVID-19 related. Some school districts that did not meet these criteria also reopened to in-person instruction. Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said he supported those districts in their decision and that superintendents and principals could have the final say.[14]
  • July 23, 2020: Ducey ordered public schools to reopen for on-site learning on August 17 for students who had nowhere else to go. Superintendent Kathy Hoffman clarified that the order meant each school district needed to open at least one site for students to go, but did not have to open every school or require every teacher to work in-person.[15]
  • June 29, 2020: Ducey ordered public schools to delay the start of the school year until at least August 17.[16]
  • June 1, 2020: The Arizona Department of Education released guidance for reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year. The guidance included screening students before entry, face covering requirements, smaller class sizes, and the elimination of communal dining halls.[17]
  • May 29, 2020: Ducey announced that schools would reopen in the fall and that the state would release guidelines to schools on June 1.[18]


2019-2020 school year

  • March 30, 2020: Ducey announced that schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were scheduled to reopen on April 13.[19]
  • March 20, 2020: Ducey announced that the statewide school closure, scheduled to end March 27, was extended to April 10.[20]
  • March 15, 2020: Ducey ordered all schools in the state to close until March 27.[10]

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[21]
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[22]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[23]
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[24]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[25]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[26]
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[27]
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: July 13, 2020

Arizona released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on June 1, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 13. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

On June 1, the Arizona Department of Education released guidance for reopening schools, titled “Roadmap for Reopening Schools.” It’s based on input from health experts and education leaders across Arizona and includes suggestions for how local school districts can reopen for the 2020-2021 school year under different scenarios. Kathy Hoffman, the Superintendent in Public Instruction, said about the plan, “This is not a one-size-fits all. This is meant to be flexible and adaptable to help our school leaders think through all different types of scenarios and work within their own communities to create plans that are best for their unique needs.” On June 29, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed an executive order delaying the start of school until Aug. 17. However, schools are permitted to offer distance learning before Aug. 17 if they submit a distance learning plan to the Arizona Department of Education. Ducey first ordered all schools closed on March 15. He announced that schools would remain closed to in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year on March 30.

Context

Arizona is a Republican trifecta, with a Republican governor and Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.

The following tables show public education statistics in Arizona, 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.

Arizona school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $19,456 6
Number of students (18-19) 130,963 47
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 7,825 49
Number of public schools (18-19) 510 44
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 17.1 14
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 45.3% 32


Arizona school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $9,860,167,000 21
Federal revenue percent 13% 5
State revenue percent 44.1% 32
Local revenue percent 43% 23


Plan details

The sections below analyze recommendations from the guidance on school finance, health protocols, different scenarios, and technology.

School finance
The plan says that the potential for shifts in student enrollment and attendance has led to growing concerns about school budget stability. According to the plan, funding calculations for public schools are based in part on student enrollment counts after the first 100 days of instructions. The plan calls for state leaders to consider the following:

  • A budget floor to cover core costs.
  • A flexible and adaptable way to provide distance learning that is tied to a brick and mortar school.
  • Transportation route miles adjustment that allows for an increase in bus routes needed to accommodate fewer students on a bus at one time.

Additionally, the plan calls for the following considerations:

  • Limiting budgets from decreasing more than two percent (2%).
  • Allowing students who participate in person or remotely within the first 10 days of school to count as enrolled for the first day of the school calendar.
  • The ability to mark a student’s absence as excused when related to issues of COVID concerns.
  • Accommodate the ability of districts or schools to offer flexible and adaptable instructional models by linking funding calculations to those models in a similar manner as regular instruction.

Health protocols
The plan includes a decision tree, written by the CDC, that schools can use to determine if they should reopen to in-person instruction. Considerations include some of the following:

  • Will reopening be consistent with applicable state and local orders?
  • Are you able to screen students and employees, upon arrival, for symptoms and history of exposure?
  • Are recommended health and safety actions in place?
  • Is ongoing monitoring in place?

The plan recommends that schools wait to reopen physical buildings until all questions in the decision tree can be answered with a “yes.” The plan recommends that schools put into place screening and physical distancing protocols. Recommendations include assigned seating on buses and the possibility of needing more buses or alternatives schedules, modified layouts in classrooms, smaller class sizes when possible, staggered scheduling, and the closure of communal spaces such as dining halls and playgrounds. The plan also recommends serving kids food in classrooms instead of dining areas. According to the plan, schools should consider requiring face coverings when social distancing isn’t feasible. The plan includes recommendations for promoting behaviors that reduce the spread of the virus, including hand hygiene and educating staff and families on when they should stay home. The plan also includes several suggestions for maintaining a healthy environment that include cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Scenarios
The plan includes four scenarios for reopening developed by the National Institute for Excellence in Training that range from requiring remote learning for all students to returning all students to physical buildings. The scenarios are not comprehensive but include factors schools should consider before adopting one of the scenarios.

  • Scenario One: All Students in Physical Buildings from the Start of the School Year
    • The school meets the CDC school decision tree guidelines
    • There are none to minimal local/community cases of COVID-19
    • They have a governing board approved contingency plan
    • They have a comprehensive communication plan
    • They have clearly communicated screening expectations to staff and families
    • They have a plan for medically fragile staff and students
  • Scenario Two: Some Students in Physical Buildings and Some Students Distance Learning from the Start of the School Year
    • The school meets the CDC school decision tree guidelines
    • There are minimal to moderate local/community cases of COVID-19
    • The school has a governing board approved contingency plan
    • The school has a comprehensive communication plan
    • The school has clearly communicated screening expectations to staff and families
    • The school has a plan for medically fragile staff and students to not segregate students with disabilities from their non-disabled peers. Distance learning should be thoughtful and take into account considerations of disability-related learning needs.
    • The school has considered the digital divide for students on Tribal Nations and others who lack connectivity or devices.
  • Scenario Three: All Students Distance Learning from the Start of the School Year, with the Option of Returning to Physical Buildings when Appropriate
    • The school is not able to meet the CDC school decision tree guidelines
    • There are substantial local/community cases of COVID-19
    • The school has a governing board approved Emergency Distance Learning Plan
    • The school has a comprehensive communication plan
    • The school has clearly communicated educational expectations to staff and families
    • The school has considered the digital divide for students on Tribal Nations and others who lack connectivity or devices
    • The school has determined the criteria for returning to physical buildings
  • Scenario Four: Intermittent Distance Learning throughout the School Year Based on Emergency Closures as Defined by Local and State Health Departments
    • All considerations from Scenario Three
    • The school has a plan for determining criteria and data necessary to return to physical school buildings.

Technology
The plan calls for schools to focus on connectivity, computing devices, and management and instructional platforms when thinking about technology. The plan asks schools to take into account some of the following considerations:

  • Schools should consider that some students are in a home with multiple children who need access to a single computing device to complete schoolwork.
  • To the extent possible, schools should provide students with individual computers or tablets with accessories sufficient to participate in video classrooms and each household with the hardware and WiFi access (such as hotspots) necessary to provide consistent internet with adequate speeds.

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. ↑ KGUN 9, "New Arizona bill makes it illegal to require masks for children without parental consent," April 27, 2022
  4. ↑ [https://ktar.com/story/4703221/judge-overturns-arizona-law-banning-face-mask-mandates-in-schools/ KTAR, "Judge strikes down Arizona law banning face mask mandates in schools," Sept. 27, 2021
  5. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  6. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Arizona Capitol Times, "Biden warns governors against prohibiting mask mandates," August 18, 2021 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "AZ816" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ↑ Burbio rated Arizona's in-person index at 95.9. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  9. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arizona Capitol Times, "Ducey, Hoffman order all state schools closed to prevent coronavirus spread," March 15, 2020
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AZ33
  12. ↑ Burbio rated Arizona's in-person index between 0-20. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  13. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  14. ↑ AZFamily, "Gov. Ducey backs schools that ignore him," August 13, 2020
  15. ↑ Arizona Republic, "How Ducey's school reopening announcement will affect the school year," July 23, 2020
  16. ↑ Associated Press, "In about-face, Arizona shuts bars, pools again to curb virus," June 30, 2020
  17. ↑ AZ Family, "Arizona Department of Education releases guidance for reopening schools," June 1, 2020
  18. ↑ FOX 10, "Arizona Gov. Ducey: Classes to resume in the fall, summer schools and day camps can resume," May 29, 2020
  19. ↑ Governor of Arizona, "Governor Ducey, Superintendent Hoffman Announce Extension Of School Closures Through End Of School Year," March 30, 2020
  20. ↑ AZ Central, "Arizona school closures extended to April 10, Ducey and Hoffman announce," March 20, 2020
  21. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  22. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  24. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  27. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
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