Is It Safe to Reopen Schools? An Extensive Review of the Research
March 11, 2021
By the end of March 2020, all public schools in the United States were closed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. More than 50.8 million children stayed home as school systems scrambled to transition to remote or hybrid learning platforms. While the decision to close schools was difficult, the debate over when and how to reopen safely and responsibly has grown increasingly complex and politically fraught.
State policymakers and local school leaders were forced to make hugely consequential decisions with incomplete and sometimes contradictory data. Were children key drivers in the transmission of the virus? How long should schools be closed for? How vulnerable were children to severe symptoms from COVID-19 infections?
