Introducing: Our first ever Back To School Live Blog

You can think of it as a one-stop-shop for following the news this fall. [View this email online]( [NPR]( Susan Haejin Lee for NPR Happy Sunday, If someone asked me last year — or even earlier this year — if there were any doubts about whether students would be back in schools, learning in person, I might have said no. But that was before the delta variant began taking its toll, which would in due time divide school and local leaders on exactly how to keep kids safe. Should schools mandate masks? Could a governor hold funding if a district did? Even the context of safety is changing as the pandemic continues into its second year. NPR's Deepa Sivaram reported this week that the subject of masking is so polarizing that parents are — in some instances — becoming violent with educators. "During a back-to-school event this week,” Sivaram [writes]( about an incident that happened in Austin, Texas, “an angry parent ripped a mask off a teacher's face. Others yelled at a teacher wearing a mask, saying they could not understand her while her face was covered.” Tom Leonard, the superintendent of the Eanes Independent School District in Austin, “had to write a note asking people to ‘be kind’ to educators." And that's just one layer of the things that will affect students' learning this year. What will happen to the schools that lose funding over masking? Will those students fall behind? What about the teachers? What are they saying? We're also still waiting for an expected announcement from the FDA to authorize a COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 12. (NPR’s science team answered many of your questions regarding kids and the vaccine [here this week]( When that happens, it could help, but it also could introduce something else for districts and local leaders to politicize. With all this going on, and the fast-moving pace of news, the NPR Ed team launched our first [Back To School Live Blog]( this week. You can think of this as your one-stop shop for keeping track of all the school/pandemic/college-related news around the country. As always, you can tell us what's happening in your community by clicking [here](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Here's%20what's%20happening%20in%20my%20school%20district%20). You can follow us on [Twitter]( here and you can click [here]( to follow our coverage on the live blog. — [Jeffrey Pierre]( Engagement Editor & Producer Now, let’s get into some news from this week… Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, announced that the state would withhold federal relief funds from school districts with mask mandates. A new, $163 million school grant program, created with American Rescue Plan funds, will be available, he said, to schools that adhere to "all state laws" which prohibit any mask or vaccine mandate. Schools that have mask mandates or have closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks are not eligible for the program, and risk losing the additional $1,800 per student. [Read more here](. — Sneha Dey, NPR Ed --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Education Department will erase $5.8 billion in debt for borrowers with disabilities, discharging the outstanding student loans of more than 323,000 people. NPR's reporting over the past two years has shown that only a fraction of eligible borrowers have been getting the relief they're entitled to under the federal Total and Permanent Disability Discharge program. The program is meant to wipe out the student loan debt of Americans who can no longer work due to a significant disability. But, until now, borrowers who qualified for the program had to apply for relief. [Read more here](. —[Clare Lombardo]( NPR Ed Reporter Polls: Parents support school mask mandates, but oppose student vaccine requirements. Across the country, some state leaders are demanding that schools make face coverings optional. But more than 6 in 10 parents of school-age kids would like to see their children's school institute a mask mandate for unvaccinated students and staff, according to a poll released by the [Kaiser Family Foundation](. At the same time, 58% of parents are against schools requiring students ages 12-17 to get the vaccine, according to the Kaiser survey. Regarding COVID-19 testing in schools, a RAND Corporation survey finds that 51% of parents would take advantage of voluntary, free weekly testing, and 75% supported symptomatic testing. [Read more here](. — Sneha Dey, NPR Ed A school district in northeast Texas made masks part of its dress code to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on mandatory masking in schools. According to The Paris News, the school board in the Paris Independent School District made its decision after an emergency meeting Tuesday, when parents, district employees and local doctors discussed the subject for more than an hour. The change to the dress code is not permanent and will be revisited at each monthly board meeting. Abbott announced Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated. The Republican governor has been fighting with local governments over the issue of mask requirements for months. [Read more here](. — [Rachel Treisman]( NPR And before you go, a bit of innovation… Nicholas L. Dixon A North Carolina principal rethinks the classroom and brings students outdoors. Last year's COVID-19 lockdown disrupted the idea of school as we know it, and it forced educators to think outside of the box. For one elementary school principal, Nicholas L. Dixon of Foust Elementary School in Greensboro, thinking outside of the box had him heading outside — literally. Research has shown that being outdoors can positively affect students. According to a report issued by the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, learning outside can improve children's performance and behavior and can lead to strengthened connections among families and the community. [Read more here](. See you next week. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? 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