Citing the potential risks to educators and students posed by COVID-19, many local policymakers have opted to shut down K-12 schools in favor of online schooling. Additionally, at least one teachers’ union has secured guarantees that teachers using platforms like Zoom or Skype do not have to work more than four hours per day. While students whose families can afford private tutoring or other educational services can supplement subpar alternative programming, students without access to computers, who come from the most remote or poorest households in America, run a serious risk of simply being left behind – and potentially suffer lifelong economic damage, as a result.

In this new policy brief, Michael Lachanski proposes a dynamic information provision strategy tailored to parents and local policymakers. By providing rolling weekly COVID-19 death and infection statistics by age and school district (and the area directly surrounding schools) to parents and local decision makers, communities can make their own decisions about the benefits and risks regarding in-person instruction. This system can also serve as an early warning system should a local outbreak occur.