9. The risk of opening schools: Flexibility, planning needed
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How to safely reopen schools in the fall became one of the most prominent issues in 2020, months after widespread shutdowns put students at all levels in front of computer screens.
With the health and safety of the education community at stake, an analysis of the political controversy that ensued was the ninth most-read workers compensation article on Business Insurance’s website in 2020.
Tasked with creating guidelines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told school districts that such steps as social distancing and cleaning protocols would help. Yet teachers unions nationwide argued that the guidelines might not be practical or were cost-prohibitive for already strapped school systems.
As for colleges and universities, some faced lawsuits from students who claimed the online classes were subpar, which in turn helped spur schools to action with reopening plans that called for such protocols as mask-wearing and social distancing, and flexibility in the event of a marked increase in COVID-19 cases.
Overall, experts predicted the situation would change day to day — a correct assumption based on news of schools shutting down again as cases surged.
