Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers

Executive Order 14000 of January 21, 2021

Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation
                of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers

                By the authority vested in me as President by the
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of
                America, to ensure that students receive a high-quality
                education during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-
                19) pandemic, and to support the safe reopening and
                continued operation of schools, child care providers,
                Head Start programs, and institutions of higher
                education, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. Every student in America deserves a
                high-quality education in a safe environment. This
                promise, which was already out of reach for too many,
                has been further threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
                School and higher education administrators, educators,
                faculty, child care providers, custodians and other
                staff, and families have gone above and beyond to
                support children's and students' learning and meet
                their needs during this crisis. Students and teachers
                alike have found new ways to teach and learn. Many
                child care providers continue to provide care and
                learning opportunities to children in homes and centers
                across the country. However, leadership and support
                from the Federal Government is needed. Two principles
                should guide the Federal Government's response to the
                COVID-19 crisis with respect to schools, child care
                providers, Head Start programs, and higher education
                institutions. First, the health and safety of children,
                students, educators, families, and communities is
                paramount. Second, every student in the United States
                should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality
                education, during and beyond the pandemic.

                Accordingly, it is the policy of my Administration to
                provide support to help create the conditions for safe,
                in-person learning as quickly as possible; ensure high-
                quality instruction and the delivery of essential
                services often received by students and young children
                at school, institutions of higher education, child care
                providers, and Head Start programs; mitigate learning
                loss caused by the pandemic; and address educational
                disparities and inequities that the pandemic has
                created and exacerbated.

                Sec. 2. Agency Roles and Responsibilities. The
                following assignments of responsibility shall be
                exercised in furtherance of the policy described in
                section 1 of this order:

                    (a) The Secretary of Education shall, consistent
                with applicable law:

(i) provide, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, evidence-based guidance to assist States and elementary and
secondary schools in deciding whether and how to reopen, and how to remain
open, for in-person learning; and in safely conducting in-person learning,
including by implementing mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking,
proper ventilation, and testing;

(ii) provide, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, evidence-based guidance to institutions of higher education on
safely reopening for in-person learning, which shall take into account
considerations such as the institution's setting, resources, and the
population it serves;

(iii) provide advice to State, local, Tribal, and territorial educational
authorities, institutions of higher education, local education agencies,
and elementary and secondary schools regarding distance and online
learning,

blended learning, and in-person learning; and the promotion of mental
health, social-emotional well-being, and communication with parents and
families;

(iv) develop a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse to
enable schools and institutions of higher education to share lessons
learned and best practices for operating safely during the pandemic;

(v) provide technical assistance to schools and institutions of higher
education so that they can ensure high-quality learning during the
pandemic;

(vi) direct the Department of Education's Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights to deliver a report as soon as practicable on the disparate impacts
of COVID-19 on students in elementary, secondary, and higher education,
including those attending historically black colleges and universities,
Tribal colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other
minority-serving institutions;

(vii) coordinate with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences
to facilitate, consistent with applicable law, the collection of data
necessary to fully understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
students and educators, including data on the status of in-person learning.
These data shall be disaggregated by student demographics, including race,
ethnicity, disability, English-language-learner status, and free or reduced
lunch status or other appropriate indicators of family income; and

(viii) consult with those who have been struggling for months with the
enormous challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses for education, including
students; educators; unions; families; State, local, Tribal, and
territorial officials; and members of civil rights and disability rights
organizations, in carrying out the directives in this order.

                    (b) The Secretary of Health and Human Services
                shall, consistent with applicable law:

(i) facilitate the collection of data needed to inform the safe reopening
and continued operation of elementary and secondary schools, child care
providers, and Head Start programs, and ensure that such data are readily
available to State, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders and the public,
consistent with privacy interests, and that such data are disaggregated by
race, ethnicity, and other factors as appropriate;

(ii) ensure, in coordination with the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response
and Counselor to the President (COVID-19 Response Coordinator) and other
relevant agencies, that COVID-19-related supplies the Secretary
administers, including testing materials, are equitably allocated to
elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, and Head Start
programs to support in-person care and learning;

(iii) to the maximum extent possible, support the development and operation
of contact tracing programs at the State, local, Tribal, and territorial
level, by providing guidance and technical support to ensure that contact
tracing is available to facilitate the reopening and safe operation of
elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, Head Start
programs, and institutions of higher education;

(iv) provide guidance needed for child care providers and Head Start
programs for safely reopening and operating, including procedures for
mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation, and
testing, as well as guidance related to meeting the needs of children,
families, and staff who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,
including trauma-informed care, behavioral and mental health support, and
family support, as appropriate; and

(v) provide technical assistance to States, localities, Tribes, and
territories to support the accelerated distribution of Federal COVID-19
relief funds to child care providers, and identify strategies to help child
care providers safely remain open during the pandemic and beyond while the
sector

experiences widespread financial disruption due to increased costs and less
revenue.

                    (c) The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of
                Health and Human Services shall submit a report to the
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the
                COVID-19 Response Coordinator identifying strategies to
                address the impact of COVID-19 on educational outcomes,
                especially along racial and socioeconomic lines, and
                shall share those strategies with State, local, Tribal,
                and territorial officials. In developing these
                strategies, the Secretaries shall, as appropriate and
                consistent with applicable law, consult with such
                officials, as well as with education experts;
                educators; unions; civil rights advocates; Tribal
                education experts; public health experts; child
                development experts; early educators, including child
                care providers; Head Start staff; school technology
                practitioners; foundations; families; students;
                community advocates; and others.
                    (d) The Federal Communications Commission is
                encouraged, consistent with applicable law, to increase
                connectivity options for students lacking reliable home
                broadband, so that they can continue to learn if their
                schools are operating remotely.

                Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
                applicable law and subject to the availability of
                appropriations.

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
                other person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 21, 2021.