School responses in Louisiana to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Scroll here for more articles
Documenting America's Path.png
Current coverage
Active COVID-19 emergency orders • Changes to emergency power laws • Federal government responses • Mask requirements • School policies in the 2021-2022 academic year • State vaccine requirement (vaccine passport) policies • State employee vaccine requirements • State plans to end federal unemployment • State unemployment filings • Travel restrictions • Vaccine distribution plans
Vaccines
School policies
Mask requirements
Federal pandemic responses
Travel restrictions
Elections
Economy and society
State policies
Debate about government responses
Click here to see our complete coronavirus coverage
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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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

  • May 18, 2022: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced the state would be removing the coronavirus vaccine from the list of required immunizations in schools.[3]
  • Feb. 16, 2022: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) allowed the statewide school mask requirement to expire.[4]
  • Dec. 14, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced that the Louisiana Department of Health would add the coronavirus vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for students 16 and older, overriding the Louisiana House of Representatives Health and Welfare Committee’s Dec. 6 vote against the policy. He said parents could submit a written objection to opt out.[5]
  • Dec. 6, 2021: The Louisiana House of Representatives Health and Welfare Committee voted 13-2 to reject a Louisiana Department of Health proposal that would have added the coronavirus vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for some students.[6]
  • Oct. 26, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) lifted the statewide indoor mask requirement for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in all settings except for K-12 schools. School districts have the option not to require masks if they follow CDC quarantine guidelines.[7]
  • Sept. 9, 2021: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio, a school data aggregator, reported four in-person schooling disruptions in Louisiana.[8][9]


2020-2021 school year

  • June 29, 2021: At the end of the school year, Burbio reported most schools were in-person in Louisiana .[10][11]
  • Sept. 10, 2020: At the beginning of the school year, Burbio reported about half of schools were in-person in Louisiana .[12][13]
  • July 14, 2020: The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously to approve reopening guidelines proposed by Superintendent Cade Brumley. The guidelines included a requirement for all adults and students in grades 3 through 12 to wear face coverings.[14]


2019-2020 school year

  • April 13, 2020: Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) closed schools for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were closed through April 30.[15]
  • April 2, 2020: Edwards announced that the statewide school closure, scheduled to end April 13, was extended through April 30.[16]
  • March 13, 2020: Edwards signed an executive order closing all K-12 schools statewide until April 13.[17]

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[18]
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[19]
Iowa Ban Legislative action May 16, 2022 - Reinstated by court action[20]
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[21]
Maryland Requirement Maryland State Board of Education order March 1, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[22]
Massachusetts Requirement Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education order Feb. 28, 2022 - Lifted by executive action[23]
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[24]
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 16, 2020

Louisiana released an initial operating plan for the 2020-2021 school year on July 14, 2020. An analysis of this plan appeared in our Documenting America's Path to Recovery newsletter on July 16. The sections below include an analysis of the plan, the details of the plan, and reactions from officials to the plan.

On July 14, the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved Superintendent Cade Brumley’s proposed reopening guidelines. Brumley said that the guidelines were “minimum health and safety standards for every school in the state,” while allowing local districts to create their own specific plans.

On March 13, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) issued an executive order closing K-12 schools until April 13. On April 2, Edwards extended the closure through April 30. On April 13, Edwards made the closure effective for the remainder of the school year.

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

Context

Louisiana 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 2016.

The following tables show public education statistics in Louisiana, 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.

Louisiana school metrics
Category Figure Rank
Per pupil spending (16-17) $12,542 31
Number of students (18-19) 711,235 25
Number of teachers (Fall 2016) 48,408 23
Number of public schools (18-19) 1,384 26
Student:teacher ratio (18-19) 18.3 7
Percent qualifying for free/reduced lunch (16-17) 63.0% 5


Louisiana school revenue
Category Figure Rank
Total revenue $8,927,289,000 24
Federal revenue percent 14.7% 3
State revenue percent 43.4% 34
Local revenue percent 41.9% 25

Details

District reopening plans
Under the guidelines, school districts are responsible for creating their own reopening plans in accordance with the guidelines. Brumley said each district must submit its plan to the state for approval, but did not say whether the plans had to be posted publicly.

In-person, hybrid, and online learning
Under the guidelines, school districts must decide whether students will learn face-to-face, remotely, or using a hybrid model. Individual students may be considered for remote or hybrid learning based on academic, social, emotional, familial, or medical needs.

Mask requirements
The guidelines state that adults and students in grades 3 through 12 must wear face coverings to the greatest extent possible.

In-person health recommendations and requirements
The guidelines place a limit on the number of individuals who can gather in a single room or outdoors at one time depending on the state’s reopening phase. During Phase One, 10 individuals can meet at one time. That limit expands to 25 during Phase Two and 50 during Phase Three.

In a presentation on the guidelines, Brumley laid out how schools would respond to positive cases. If a school becomes aware of a presumptive case, the individual in question should not attend school until determined to be non-infectious by their doctor. School superintendents will be given authority, in consultation with the Office of Public Health, to determine whether a school must close if it becomes a coronavirus hotspot. Brumley said that one positive case did not mandate the closure of a classroom or school.

Transportation and bussing requirements and restrictions
As with meeting size limits, the guidelines determine bus capacity by the state’s reopening phase. During Phase One, buses may operate at 25% capacity. That capacity expands to 50% during Phase Two and 75% during Phase Three.

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. ↑ Daily Advertiser, "Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards dropping COVID vaccine requirement for school children," May 18, 2022
  4. ↑ Louisiana Office of the Governor, "Gov. Edwards Extends COVID Public Health Emergency Order, Without Required Mitigation Measures," February 16, 2022
  5. ↑ Louisiana Office of the Governor, "Gov. Edwards Rejects House Committee Action on COVID-19 Vaccine, Will Add It to Louisiana’s School Immunization Schedule," December 14, 2021
  6. ↑ Ruston Daily Leader, "House rejects school vaccine requirement," December 8, 2021
  7. ↑ Louisiana Office of the Governor, "Gov. Edwards Lifts Louisiana’s Mask Mandate Statewide, Except for K-12 Schools," October 26, 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. ↑ Burbio rated Louisiana's in-person index at 89.7. To read more about Burbio's school opening tracker, click here. To read more about Burbio's methodology, click here.
  11. ↑ Burbio, "Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker," accessed Oct. 6, 2021
  12. ↑ Burbio rated Louisiana's in-person index between 40-60. 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. ↑ The Advocate, " Reopening rules of Louisiana public schools: BESE votes in face mask, social distancing policies," July 15, 2020
  15. ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Louisiana schools to remain closed for year amid coronavirus; some continuing remote learning," April 13, 2020
  16. ↑ The Lens, "Governor says Louisiana schools shuttered through April 30," April 2, 2020
  17. ↑ Office of the Louisiana Governor, "Gov. Edwards Signs Proclamation Aimed to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 in Louisiana," March 13, 2020
  18. ↑ On Sept. 2, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Sept. 10.
  19. ↑ Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ended the statewide school mask requirement on Feb. 28, 2022.
  20. ↑ On Sept. 13, 2021 the ban was temporarily suspended by court action for all schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, the ban was partially reinstated.
  21. ↑ Oct. 26, 2021 - School districts could be exempt from the school mask requirement if they followed CDC quarantine guidance
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ Oct. 1 - Schools could become exempt from the school mask requirement when at least 80% of students were vaccinated
  24. ↑ On Nov. 10, 2021 the ban was suspended by court action. An appeals court upheld the ban on Dec. 1.
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=School_responses_in_Louisiana_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic&oldid=8800774"