Around two in 10 U.S. school districts “have already adopted, plan to adopt or are considering adopting virtual school as part of their district portfolio” once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a report released by the nonprofit RAND Corporation.
Other key findings in the survey, conducted during the fall and involving more than 300 public-school districts and charter management organizations, are as follows:
- District leaders’ top concerns for the 2020–21 school year are disparities in students’ opportunities to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ social and emotional learning needs, and insufficient funding to cover staff.
- Per school district leaders, the U.S. Department of Education had the second-least amount of influence on their COVID-19 plans, with state and local health departments having the most.
Read the full report here.