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School responses in Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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:
    • The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill in special session overriding the state’s mask requirement policy for public schools. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) vetoed the part of the bill reversing the school mask requirement, and his veto was overridden 69-24 in the House and 21-6 in the Senate. The bill requires school mask requirement decisions to be left to local authorities. Beshear called for the special session on Sept. 4.[3]
    • At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported thirty-nine in-person schooling disruptions in Kentucky.[4][5]
  • Aug. 23, 2021: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) rescinded his executive order requiring masks be worn in schools. Masks were still required in Kentucky public schools due to a separate Kentucky Board of Education order. Beshear’s action followed a Kentucky Supreme Court opinion issued Aug. 21 upholding limits the state legislature placed on the governor’s emergency powers.[6]
  • Aug. 10, 2021: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) released an executive order requiring all individuals to wear masks inside of public and private schools.[7]
  • July 26, 2021: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) recommended that school districts require all students under 12, all other unvaccinated students, and all unvaccinated adults to wear masks indoors.[8]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Kentucky .[9][10]
  • March 29, 2021: Kentucky public schools had to offer at least two days of in-person instruction each week starting March 29. The requirement was the result of HB 208, which Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed on March 4. The bill passed the state Senate 28-8 on March 3 and the House 81-15 on March 4. Parents could still keep their children in fully remote learning.[11]
  • March 4, 2021: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed HB 208, requiring public schools to offer at least two days of in-person instruction each week starting March 29. The bill passed 28-8 in the state Senate on March 3, and the House approved the Senate’s version 81-15 on March 4. Parents could still keep their children in fully remote learning.[12]
  • March 1, 2021: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's (D) executive order recommending all school districts and private schools offer some form of in-person instruction became effective.[13]
  • February 23, 2021: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) issued an executive order recommending all school districts and private schools offer some form of in-person instruction by March 1. The Kentucky Department of Education released KDE COVID-19 Guidance 2.0 to guide school reopenings.[14]
  • January 4, 2021: Kentucky’s Healthy at School guidelines became mandatory and middle and high schools were allowed to reopen for in-person instruction.[15]
  • December 14, 2020: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) announced the state’s Healthy at School guidelines would become mandatory starting Jan. 4, 2020, including rules for social distancing, mask-wearing, sanitization, and other in-person activities (like food service in lunch rooms). [15]
  • December 7, 2020: Public and private elementary schools started reopening for in-person instruction on Dec. 7 in non-red zone counties. Middle and high school instruction would be fully remote through at least Jan. 4. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) previously ordered all schools to close on Nov. 23.[16]
  • November 23, 2020: All K-12 public and private schools statewide had to stop in-person classes. Middle and high school instruction were scheduled to remain remote through at least Jan. 4. Elementary schools were scheduled to reopen in-person instruction starting Dec. 7 in non-red zone counties.[17]
  • Sept 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported a majority of schools were using virtual or hybrid learning in Kentucky .[18][19]
  • August 10, 2020: Gov. Andy Beshear (D) requested that school districts not offer in-person instruction until at least Sept. 28, and instead begin the school year with virtual learning.[7]
  • July 27, 2020: Beshear asked schools to avoid reopening for in-person instruction until the third week of August.[20]
  • July 6, 2020: The Kentucky Department of Education released guidelines on reopening schools in the fall. The document, a complement to interim guidance issued in June by the Kentucky Department of Public Health, did not mandate a uniform course of action for reopening schools. Instead, "it [was] intended to be a guide for local school districts when developing and adapting their return-to-school plans."[21]
  • May 15, 2020: The Kentucky Department of Education released guidance for schools to reopen for the 2020-2021 school year. Before opening, schools would be required to identify a Healthy at Work officer, create a Healthy at Work communications plan, educate and train employees, establish contact tracing procedures, establish calendar, enrollment, and attendance guidelines, and create a plan for sudden closures or extended periods of remote learning.[22]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 20, 2020: Beshear 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 1.[23]
  • April 2, 2020: Beshear announced that the statewide school closure, originally scheduled to end on April 20, would extend until May 1.[24]
  • March 20, 2020: Beshear announced that the statewide school closure, originally scheduled to end on March 27, would extend until April 20.[25]
  • March 13, 2020: Beshear announced the closing of K-12 schools in the state for at least two weeks beginning March 16, 2020.[26]

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[27]
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[28]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[29]
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[30]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[31]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[32]
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[33]
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 28, 2020

Kentucky released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year in June 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 28. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

The Kentucky Department of Public Health (KDPH) released school reopening guidance in June. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released additional guidance on July 6 after releasing interim guidance on May 15. The KDE guidance says it is meant to be used as a companion to the KDPH guidance and that both should be used as guides for school districts developing their own individual school reopening plans.

On March 13, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) closed public schools from March 16 through March 30. He extended the school closure on March 20 (through April 2) and extended it again on April 2 (through May 1). On April 20, Beshear closed public schools for the remainder of the school year.

Kentucky does not have a statewide date for public schools to reopen. According to EdWeek, public schools in Kentucky traditionally start the academic year in August, with the exact date varying by district.

Context

Kentucky has a divided government. The governor is a Democrat, and Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The state has had a divided government since 2019.

The following tables show public education statistics in Kentucky, 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.

Kentucky school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $11,518 38
Number of students (18-19) 677,821 27
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 42,029 27
Number of public schools (18-19) 1,536 23
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 16.2 17
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 58.7% 11


Kentucky school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $7,453,976,000 26
Federal revenue percent 11.5% 11
State revenue percent 54.9% 18
Local revenue percent 33.6% 35

Details

District reopening plans
Districts must use state guidance to develop their own reopening plans. The guidance says state plans should evolve over time and “districts should work closely with their local health departments and other partners to ensure their policies, procedures and protocols align with the current scientific information.”

The guidance does not say if state-approved plans must be made publicly available.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning
The guidance released in June and July does not say what sort of model districts must use for learning. The initial guidance released in May asked schools to “prepare for three contingencies for the start of the school year: an early opening, a traditional opening and a late opening” based on local conditions.

KDE established four potential alternative schedules for schools to consider:

  • Rotating schedules where groups of students would attend school on alternating patterns, such as A/B days, AM/PM patterns, or alternating weeks.
  • A synchronous opt-in model where parents could choose whether their children attend school in person or virtually, with instruction delivered synchronously to students both at school and at home through live streaming.
  • A hybrid model between rotating and synchronous opt-in models where students not learning in school are learning at home in real time through live streaming.
  • A fully online model where students receive instruction at home through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous virtual learning.

Mask requirements
The guidance recommends that staff and all students in first grade or older should wear a cloth mask unless the student has a medical exemption. The following guidelines for masks are also included:

  • Masks can be lowered during classroom time if all students and staff are seated 6 feet apart and no persons are walking around inside the classroom.
  • Masks should:
    • Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
    • Be secured with ties or ear loops Include multiple layers of fabric Allow for breathing without restriction
    • Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape
    • Cover both nose and mouth
  • Schools should develop a standard for masks to assure messaging or images on masks align with school dress code.
  • Schools should develop a plan for purchase/donation of cloth masks for provision to students who arrive without a mask or do not have resources to obtain a mask.

In-person health recommendations and requirements
The guidance includes the following safety expectations for schools:

  • Stagger arrival and dismissal times.
  • Increase space between students by rearranging seating to maximize space between students to be 6 feet or greater.
  • If the physical space in the school doesn't allow for spacing students’ desks 6 feet apart, space desks as far away as possible and require masks at all times in that classroom for students and staff. All desks should be arranged so students' seats face the same direction.
  • Reduce class sizes to allow for smaller cohorts of students to decrease potential need for contact tracing.
  • Cancel field trips, assemblies, and other large group activities to avoid mixing students in large common areas. Adhere to the Governor’scurrent guidance regarding group gatherings.
  • Limit non-essential visitors on school property.
  • Ensure students go straight from vehicles to their classrooms to avoid congregating.

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions
The guidance says students should wear masks on the bus unless they have a medical waiver. It recommends that passengers from the same household be seated together and that staggered, arranged seating be used.

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. ↑ WDRB, "Ky. lawmakers override Beshear's partial veto of bill lifting school mask mandate," September 9, 2021
  4. ↑ To read more about Burbio's school disruption tracking, click here
  5. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed August 27, 2021
  6. ↑ Fox 19, "‘I lost:’ Beshear rescinds school mask mandate after Supreme Court rules against him," August 23, 2021
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kentucky Office of the Governor, "Health care, public health, school and business leaders support Governor’s executive order," August 10, 2021 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "KY810" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ↑ Kentucky Office of the Governor, "Gov. Beshear Announces K-12 School Recommendations in Response to COVID-19 Delta Variant," July 26, 2021
  9. ↑ Burbio rated Kentucky's in-person index at 88.5. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  10. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY329
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY34
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY31
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY224
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY1214
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KY1210
  17. ↑ Newsweek, "Kentucky COVID Restrictions Explained as Schools, Restaurants Affected," accessed November 23, 2020
  18. ↑ Burbio rated Kentucky'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.
  19. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  20. ↑ Governor of Kentucky, "Gov. Beshear Announces New Actions to Fight COVID-19," July 27, 2020
  21. ↑ Kentucky Department of Education, "COVID-19Considerations for Reopening Schools:Workplace Health and Safety," accessed July 6, 2020
  22. ↑ WAVE 3, "Ky. Dept. of Education releases guidance for schools to reopen safely this fall," May 15, 2020
  23. ↑ Lexington Herald-Leader, " KY schools to stay closed for rest of academic year, no in-person classes, Beshear says," April 20, 2020
  24. ↑ Louisville Courier Journal, "Kentucky schools need to be closed until at least May, Gov. Andy Beshear says," April 2, 2020
  25. ↑ WDRB, "Gov. Beshear advising school districts to extend closures until April 20 in Kentucky," March 20, 2020
  26. ↑ WDRB, "Public school districts across Kentucky closed for at least two weeks amid coronavirus pandemic," March 13, 2020
  27. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  28. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  29. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  30. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  33. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
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