Remote Learning in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual Member briefing to examine the learning challenges schools are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing, entitled “Remote Learning in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” focused on the abrupt closure of schools due to COVID-19, and how these closures have exacerbated longstanding inequities in K-12 education and underscored disparities in school funding, curricular resources, school facilities, and teacher quality.

The briefing included Marlon Styles, Superintendent of Middletown City School District, and Robin Lake, Director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. The two panelists discussed:

• Challenges to deliver remote learning and the effect on students;
• How schools are working to address both the equity gaps in remote learning, as well as quality issues when it comes to instruction; and
• The importance of federal emergency relief to help schools respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.