“Today's data reaffirms what we’ve been seeing and hearing for months – that we’ve met and exceeded President Biden’s goal of reopening the majority of K-8 schools, and that as a nation we continue to make significant progress in reopening as many schools as possible before the summer. As of April, 96 percent of K-8 schools were offering in-person learning options and 59 percent of these schools were offering full-time in-person instruction. From speaking with educators, students, parents, and districts across the country, we know that additional reopening progress was made in May and the early weeks of June. While today’s data show that for the first time this year more Black and Hispanic fourth graders were attending school in-person full-time in April than attending fully remote, we have more work to do to ensure that Black, Hispanic, and Asian students have equal access to in-person learning options as their white peers, and that parents and students feel confident again learning inside school buildings.

“Schools have shown that they can - and should - be offering in-person learning opportunities five days a week to every student. With increased access to vaccinations and testing, unprecedented funding from the American Rescue Plan, and resources like our COVID Handbooks and Best Practices Clearinghouse, it is my expectation that all schools will offer full time in person learning to every student this fall. The Department will continue to work with schools and districts over the coming months to provide more students access to summer learning opportunities to reengage and prepare them for the 2021 school year, and ensure every student can learn and thrive five days a week inside their classrooms this fall.”