Safety & Wellness

What K-12 leaders need to know about a new generation of parents promoting both conservative and liberal causes.

More school districts are dropping mask mandates than are reinstating them as educators wait to see if the latest COVID wave will match past surges in severity.

Even stricter measures have surfaced, including a Louisiana bill that would prevent educators from discussing sexual orientation through eighth grade, and a Tennesse proposal to bar instructional materials that "normalize" LGTBQ lifestyles.

As the Florida measure critics call the "Don't Say Gay" bill awaits final approval, a new curriculum transparency law requires schools to list library books and reading materials.

Masks will once again be required in Philadelphia's schools as other large districts are also seeing an increase in COVID cases. Still, K-12 leaders elsewhere are dropping their mask mandates.

"School closures may ultimately prove to be the most costly policy decision of the pandemic era." That's the somber conclusion made by researchers taking a fresh look at the economic and other impacts of COVID.