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School responses in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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

  • Dec. 10, 2021: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the statewide school mask requirement, upholding a lower court’s ruling that acting Health Secretary Alison Beam lacked the authority to require masks in schools.[3]
  • Nov. 30, 2021: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court voted 5-1 to temporarily block a lower court ruling that would have ended the state’s school masking requirement on Dec. 4.[4]
  • Nov. 16, 2021: Cannon issued an additional ruling saying Pennsylvania's school mask requirement would expire Dec. 4 barring a successful appeal to the state supreme court.[5]
  • Nov. 10, 2021: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon ruled that Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Health Department Alison Beam’s school mask requirement was issued without proper authority.[6]
  • Nov. 8, 2021: Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced he planned to return school mask requirement authority to local school officials on Jan. 17, 2022.[7]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported five in-person schooling disruptions in Pennsylvania.[8][9]
  • Aug. 31, 2021: Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced masks would be required in all public and private K-12 schools starting Sept. 7.[10]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Pennsylvania .[11][12]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported a majority of schools were using virtual or hybrid learning in Pennsylvania .[13][14]
  • August 19, 2020: The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced the statewide public mask requirement for everyone over the age of two applied to all public and private schools. Students could remove their face coverings when they were eating and drinking (at least six feet apart), in situations when wearing a face covering might be unsafe, and during socially distanced face covering breaks lasting no more than 10 minutes.[15]
  • August 10, 2020: The Pennsylvania Department of Education released guidelines for when schools could reopen to in-person instruction based on health statistics in the county.[16]
  • July 16, 2020: The Pennsylvania Department of Education released updated guidance for reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year.[17]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 9, 2020: Gov. Tom Wolf (D) closed schools for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools had been closed indefinitely from March 16.[18]
  • March 30, 2020: Wolf announced that the statewide school closure would last indefinitely. It was previously scheduled to end on April 8.[19]
  • March 23, 2020: Wolf announced that the statewide school closure, scheduled to end March 30, was extended through April 8.[20]
  • March 13, 2020: Wolf closed all K-12 schools in the state for two weeks effective March 16.[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: July 21, 2020

Pennsylvania released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on June 3, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 21. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

On June 3, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released preliminary guidance to assist schools in reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. The guidance applied to school districts, charter schools, regional charter schools, cyber charter schools, career and technical centers, and intermediate units. It was informed by Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) phased, color-coded reopening plan. On July 16, the Department of Education released updated guidance.

In a press release announcing the updated guidance, Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said, “The health and safety of students, teachers and staff must be paramount as schools prepare for the upcoming school year. The Department of Education has been focused on supporting schools with resources and best practices to help school leaders make informed decisions within their local contexts and in response to evolving conditions.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Education must approve district plans to reopen. Direct governing bodies (like school districts) must approve individual school plans to reopen.

On March 13, Wolf first ordered schools to close on March 16. He extended the closure on March 23 and again on March 30, before announcing on April 9 that students would not return to physical classrooms for the remainder of the academic year.

Pennsylvania does not have a statewide date for public schools to reopen. According to EdWeek, school districts in Pennsylvania traditionally select the start of the academic year, which can vary from late August to early September.

Context

Pennsylvania has a divided state government. Democrats hold the governorship, while Republicans have majorities in the House and Senate.

The following tables show public education statistics in Pennsylvania, 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.

Pennsylvania school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $17,810 9
Number of students (18-19) 1,710,571 7
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 122,552 6
Number of public schools (18-19) 2,973 8
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 14.0 36
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 47.5% 26


Pennsylvania 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

Details

District and school reopening plans
Before resuming in-person instruction, all local education agencies in Pennsylvania must submit a Health and Safety Plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. All plans must follow Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine's July 1 order mandating universal face coverings.

Similarly, individual schools must also develop Health and Safety Plans before returning students to physical classrooms. A school's governing body must approve the individual plan, and it must be made available to the public online. The plans should consider how schools can pivot to remote learning when necessary with minimal disruption to student learning.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning
The Phased School Reopening Health and Safety Plan Template that schools and Local Education Agencies must fill out includes four options for reopening. Schools can determine which options to adopt based on local conditions and the county’s current designation under the state’s reopening plan:

  • Total reopen for all students and staff (but some students/families opt for distance learning out of safety/health concern).
  • Scaffolded reopening: Some students are engaged in in-person learning, while others use distance learning (i.e., some grade levels in-person, other grade levels remote learning).
  • Blended reopening that balances in-person learning and remote learning for all students (i.e., alternating days or weeks).
  • Total remote learning for all students. (Plan should reflect future action steps to be implemented and conditions that would prompt the decision as to when schools will re-open for in-person learning).

Mask requirements
On July 1, Health Secretary Rachel Levine issued an order requiring individuals to wear face coverings outside of the home, including on school property. The order applies to all individuals aged two and above. All students, staff, and visitors are required to wear a face covering while on school property. Details include:

  • Individuals must wear a face covering (mask or face shield) unless they have a medical or mental health condition or disability, documented in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, that precludes the wearing of a face covering in school.
  • Teach and reinforce use of face coverings among all staff.
  • Face coverings may be removed to eat or drink during breaks and lunch periods; however, at those times, social distancing must be practiced.
  • Staff are not required to wear a face covering in situations where wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition to operate equipment or execute a task.

In-person health recommendations and requirements
The guidance calls for all schools to implement social distancing strategies for adult and staff interactions, as well as for students in hallways and classrooms. For adult and staff interactions, the guidance calls for some of the following:

  • Hold group meetings such as parent-teacher conferences, staff meetings, and curriculum planning virtually.
  • Implement strategies to increase adult-adult physical distance in time and space, such as staggered drop-offs and pickups, and outside drop-offs and pickups when weather allows. Discourage parents from entering the school building.
  • Use physical barriers, such as plexiglass, in reception areas and employee workspaces where the environment does not accommodate physical distancing.

When students are in classrooms, the guidance calls for students to be seated at least six feet apart and facing the same direction. Additionally, the guidance recommends holding classes in gyms, auditoriums, or outdoors, where physical distancing can be maintained, when possible.

The guidance recommends the following for hallways:

  • Create one-way traffic pattern in hallways.
  • Place physical guides, such as tape, on floors or sidewalks to create one-way routes.
  • Stagger class times to limit numbers of students in hallways at any time.
  • Assign lockers by cohort or eliminate lockers altogether.
  • When feasible, keep students in the classroom and rotate teachers instead.

The guidance recommends some of the following for meals and cafeterias:

  • The best option is to serve individual meals and have students eat in classrooms or other spaces as an alternative to the cafeteria.
  • If meals are served in a cafeteria setting, sit students at least 6 feet apart and have students wear face coverings when walking to and from the cafeteria as well as when getting their food.
  • Seat students in staggered arrangements to avoid "across-the-table" seating.
  • Have students eat in cohorts.
  • Utilize outdoor space, when possible.

For outdoor playground spaces, the guidance recommends students be grouped within a cohort, and that the size of groups should be limited at any one time. Students and staff should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before and after playground use.

Transportation and busing requirements and restrictions
The following guidance is included for transportation and busing. This is not a complete list.

  • Require students and parents/guardians/caregivers to perform a symptom screening prior to arriving at school or the bus stop each day.
  • Bus drivers and passengers must wear face coverings while on the bus, in accordance with the Secretary of Health's Order Requiring Universal Face Coverings issued July 1, 2020.
  • Promote social distancing at bus stops. Consider adding more bus stops to minimize the number of students waiting together.
  • Load the bus by filling seats from back to front to limit students walking past students to find a seat.
  • Assign seats by cohort (same students sit together each day) or encourage students from the same family to sit together, or both.
  • Disinfect buses after each run. Thoroughly clean and disinfect buses daily.

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. ↑ Beaumont Enterprise, "Pennsylvania high court throws out mask mandate for schools," December 10, 2021
  4. ↑ NBC Philadelphia, "Pa. Mask Mandate for K-12 Schools Remains for Now, Judge Rules," November 30, 2021
  5. ↑ WPXI, "Pennsylvania school mask mandate to be lifted Dec. 4," November 17, 2021
  6. ↑ El Paso Inc., "Pennsylvania court throws out governor's school mask mandate," November 10, 2021
  7. ↑ Governor of Pennsylvania, "Gov. Wolf: State Anticipates Returning K-12 School Mask Requirement to Local Leaders January 17, 2022," November 8, 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. ↑ Echo-Pilot, "Mask requirement starts Sept. 7 in Pennsylvania schools," September 1, 2021
  11. ↑ Burbio rated Pennsylvania's in-person index at 80.6. 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. 8, 2021
  13. ↑ Burbio rated Pennsylvania's in-person index between 20-40. 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. 8, 2021
  15. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, "Answers to FAQs: Universal Face Coverings Order," accessed August 20, 2020
  16. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of Education, "Determining Instructional Models During the COVID-19 Pandemic," August 10, 2020
  17. ↑ Patch, "PA Issues Updated School Reopening Guidance," July 16, 2020
  18. ↑ Governor of Pennsylvania, "Governor Wolf Extends School Closure for Remainder of Academic Year," April 9, 2020
  19. ↑ WGAL, "Gov. Tom Wolf extends Pennsylvania school closures indefinitely; Stay-at-home order extended, expanded," March 30, 2020
  20. ↑ Times Observer, "Gov. extends school closures in PA," March 23, 2020
  21. ↑ 6ABC, "All K-12 schools in Pennsylvania shut down for 2 weeks amid coronavirus outbreak," 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.
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