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School responses in Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware 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

  • March 1, 2022: Delaware's school mask requirement ended. Gov. John Carney (D) announced the change on Feb. 28.[3]
  • Feb. 28, 2022: Gov. John Carney (D) announced Delaware's school mask requirement would end on March 1. It was previously set to end on March 31.[3]
  • Feb. 7, 2022: Gov. John Carney (D) extended the state's school mask requirement, and said it would be lifted on March 31.[4]
  • Dec. 13, 2021: Gov. John Carney (D) formally extended the state’s school mask requirement until Feb. 8, 2022.[5]
  • Nov. 10, 2021: Gov. John Carney (D) announced Delaware would extend the statewide school mask requirement through Feb. 8, 2022.[6]
  • Sept. 28, 2021: Gov. John Carney (D) announced a vaccine or testing requirement for teachers, staff, contractors and volunteers in K-12 public and private schools, effective Nov. 1.[7]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported no in-person schooling disruptions in Delaware.[8][9]
  • Aug. 10, 2021: Gov. John Carney (D) issued an executive order requiring masks indoors in public and private schools, effective Aug. 16.[10]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported a majority of schools were in-person in Delaware .[11][12]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were using virtual or hybrid learning in Delaware .[13][14]
  • August 25, 2020: Gov. John Carney (D) signed the 25th modification to his emergency declaration, requiring students in kindergarten and above to wear face coverings inside schools at all times. The order also required school districts and charters to notify parents when a positive coronavirus case was identified in their child’s building.[15]
  • August 4, 2020: Carney announced that schools across the state could reopen using a combination of in-person and remote learning starting in September.[16]
  • July 15, 2020: Carney released guidance for reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Districts would use the guidance to create reopening plans that accounted for in-person, hybrid, and distance learning models.[17]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 24, 2020: Carney announced that schools would not reopen for in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were closed through May 15.[18]
  • March 23, 2020: Carney announced that the statewide school closure, scheduled to end March 27, was extended to May 15.[19]
  • March 13, 2020: Carney closed schools across the state from March 16 through March 27.[20][21]

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[22]
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[23]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[24]
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[25]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[26]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[27]
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[28]
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 5, 2020

Delaware released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on July 15, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on August 5. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

The Delaware Department of Education published its school reopening guidance on July 15. Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said, “This guidance document is meant to be used as support for district and charter leaders as they continue planning for the opening of the 2020-2021 school year. Essential safety protocols must be implemented by all Delaware schools, PreK-12. Additionally, actionable planning steps have been included for districts and charter schools to consider as they develop their own site-based plans.”

Delaware does not have a statewide date to reopen public schools, but Gov. John Carney (D) is expected to announce how schools will resume operations later in August, depending on the community spread of the coronavirus. According to EdWeek, public schools in Delaware traditionally start the academic year between Aug. 22 and Sept. 9.

On March 13, Carney closed schools from March 16 to March 27. On March 23, Carney extended the closure to May 15. The governor closed schools for the rest of the academic year on April 24.

Context

Delaware is a Democratic trifecta. The governor is a Democrat, and Democrats have majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The state became a Democratic trifecta in 2009.

The following tables show public education statistics in Delaware, 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.

Delaware school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $16,490 14
Number of students (18-19) 138,405 46
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 9,208 47
Number of public schools (18-19) 227 50
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 14.4 32
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 48.1% 22


Delaware school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $2,077,887,000 45
Federal revenue percent 8.7% 28
State revenue percent 57.7% 12
Local revenue percent 33.6% 35

Details

District reopening plans

The document does not specifically require schools to develop individual reopening plans for approval or publishing. Schools are required to follow the state’s minimum basic requirements. Districts are encouraged to develop plans for three possible situations, based on the document’s guidance: Scenario 1 (minimal community spread), Scenario 2 (minimal-to-moderate community spread), and Scenario 3 (significant community spread).

In-person, hybrid, and online learning

The plan calls for fully in-person, hybrid, or fully remote classes, depending on the state's rate of community spread. In Scenario 1, schools are open to fully in-person operations. Scenario 2 allows schools and districts to use a hybrid model to minimize contact and exposure. School buildings are not permitted to open in Scenario 3 and all learning must be conducted remotely. Later in August, Gov. Carney will announce which Scenario schools will need to use and if there are any regional differences in the state’s approach to reopening.

Mask requirement

All staff and students in grades 4-12 are required to wear masks in school buildings. The document recommends that students in pre-K through third grade also wear masks.

In-person health recommendations and requirements

The plan contains the following general safety guidelines for in-person operations:

“
  • Social distancing:
    • Students and staff should maintain the recommended distance of 6 feet or greater between individuals and must maintain a minimum of 3 feet apart with face coverings, including when seated at desks or standing in classrooms.
    • Individual desks should be used, reducing or eliminating shared table seating, to the extent practicable. When tables have to be shared, students should be seated the recommended 6 feet or greater between individuals and must be a minimum of 3 feet apart with face coverings.
    • Desks must be arranged so they are facing the same direction.
    • Hallways or corridors should flow either in one direction only or, if not possible, one direction on each side of the hallway with ample 6 feet of distance between students in single file flow on each side.
    • In group classes without tables, such as physical education, teachers should design activities that allow for social distancing.
  • Minimizing mixing and contact:
    • Students should be kept in stable groups throughout the day with little to no mixing of classes.
    • Families, outside visitors, and others entering the school should be as limited as absolutely possible. Adults who are assigned to work at the school, such as student teachers or before- and after-school staff, may be allowed as needed.
    • Off-site field trips must be discontinued.
    • Large-scale gatherings of more than 50 people should be avoided. Attendees at large-scale gatherings must be able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing at all times from non-household members.
  • Health status and monitoring:
    • Students and staff must stay home if they are exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been confirmed to have COVID-19 or if required by DPH to isolate or quarantine.
    • Students and/or their families should complete a health assessment every morning before leaving for school, to the extent practicable.
    • Staff should also complete a health assessment every morning before leaving for school.
    • Schools must identify an area or room separated from others where a student or staff member who becomes ill at school can wait until they can be picked up, which should be arranged as soon as possible, or transported to a medical facility if necessary.
    • Testing educators and staff is a priority for the state. DDOE and DPH will work with all schools on how to make testing available and convenient. Additional guidance regarding testing is forthcoming.[29]
 ”

For more specific guidelines, click here (starting on page 7).

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions

The document directs school districts and charter schools to implement the following general mitigation tactics on buses:

“
  • Capacity must be limited by the number of students that can be seated between 3 or more feet apart on the school bus with face coverings (one student per row in staggered fashion, if possible). Students from the same family may sit together in one row, however. All staff and students 4th grade and higher must wear face coverings except when doing so would inhibit the individual’s health.
  • High-touch surfaces on buses (handrails, seat tops, particularly in first few rows) must be cleaned between every bus run with an EPA-approved solution.
  • Windows should be open to allow ventilation, as weather permits.[29]
 ”

For more specific transportation guidelines, click here (starting on page 17).

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. ↑ 3.0 3.1 FOX 29, "Delaware's school mask mandate to end Tuesday, March 1," February 28, 2022
  4. ↑ Delaware Office of the Governor, "Governor Carney Announces Expiration of Universal Indoor Mask Mandate on February 11," February 7, 2022
  5. ↑ Delaware Office of the Governor, "Governor Carney, DOE, DHSS Formally Extend School Mask Requirement," December 13, 2021
  6. ↑ Delaware Office of the Governor, "Governor Carney Announces Extension of Emergency Mask Requirement in Schools," November 10, 2021
  7. ↑ Delaware Office of the Governor, "Governor Carney Announces Vaccine or Testing Requirement for Educators," September 28, 2021
  8. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  9. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  10. ↑ Delaware Office of the Governor, "Governor Carney Announces Mask Requirement in K-12 Schools, Child Care, State Facilities," August 10, 2021
  11. ↑ Burbio rated Delaware's in-person index at 71.5. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  12. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  13. ↑ Burbio rated Delaware'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.
  14. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  15. ↑ Governor of Delaware, "Governor Carney Signs 25th Modification to State of Emergency Declaration," August 26, 2020
  16. ↑ Governor of Delaware, "Governor Carney Announces Delaware Schools May Open in Hybrid Scenario," August 4, 2020
  17. ↑ Delaware Online, "Delaware releases guidance for reopening schools, if students return," July 15, 2020
  18. ↑ Delaware News, "Delaware Schools Closed through Academic Year," April 24, 2020
  19. ↑ Governor of Delaware, "Governor Carney Closes Delaware Schools Through May 15," March 23, 2020
  20. ↑ Governor of Delaware, "Governor Carney Declares State of Emergency to Prepare for Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)," March 12, 2020
  21. ↑ Governor of Delaware, "Governor Carney Directs Two-Week Closure of Delaware Public Schools," March 13, 2020
  22. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  23. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  24. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  25. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  28. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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