Preparing Facilities for Students' Return in the Wake of COVID-19. Policy Update. Vol. 27, No. 5

State and local officials who shuttered school buildings to stem the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020 are beginning to plan for the return of students and staff. They will need evidence-based strategies to know how best to create and maintain safe, healthy spaces. To inform their plans, federal health officials have provided guidance on cleaning and disinfection of facilities, appropriate chemicals to use for disinfection, and protocols for countering ongoing virus threats. To help schools clean and disinfect and to assist in counseling and distance learning and associated costs, Congress appropriated $100 million in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence), a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are authorized for dissemination through September 30, 2021. Districts and schools will want to prepare their facilities to be safe, healthy places to which students can return. State officials can support districts as they develop plans for closure, cleaning, and reopening of school facilities, both now and in future crises. States should ensure that districts with less capacity to manage operations, less knowledge of strategies to limit infectious disease, or without detailed closure and reopening plans are not disadvantaged at a time when all schools need guidance to ensure the safety of all individuals that come in contact with the school building.