COVID-19 Mandatory School ClosingsCOVID-19 Mandatory School Closings

Creator: Marjorie Rowe ’21 Microbiology

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted and continues to impact many parts of normal life. This map describes the early panic and shutdown of public schools in the United States. This map considers the start of the pandemic to be March 11, 2020, the day that it was officially declared by the World Health Organization. 48 of the 50 states (excluding Montana and Wyoming) closed all public schools for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. The shading indicates how many days after the official pandemic declaration were the first mandates given by the governors to close all public schools. These swift closings highlight the perceived severity and uncertainty of the moment. What stands out in this map is that schools closing timelines seem to be very similar between majority democrat and majority republican states, an unexpected result given how other public health measures were put into place on a state-by-state basis. The debate of if to close schools, how long to keep them closed, and how to safely reopen them has and continues to be source of debate in the United States.

School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2019–2020 academic year. (2020, May 15). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/School_responses_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic_during_the_2019-2020_academic_year