Alabama schools likely added more than 10,000 COVID cases this week
Public schools are seeing a surge in cases, eclipsing last year's numbers and sending many systems back to virtual learning.
Alabama Department of Education
Alabama Public Health officials to recommend universal masking in schools
It's up to local school systems whether to follow the guidance, however. Gov. Kay Ivey said she won't mandate masks.
Due process bill for K-12 students facing discipline fails to advance
Sen. Smitherman's bill passed the Senate but failed to make it to the House floor. He plans to bring it back next year.
“Worst fear come true:” Two Alabama public school teachers lose parents to COVID-19
Two Alabama high school teachers tell APR about losing loved ones and the struggles they’ve had with school districts they say didn’t do enough to protect them, their students or their families from the deadly disease.
Schools won’t be required to report COVID-19 data for state’s K-12 dashboard
Information presented on the dashboard won’t be broken down by individual schools but will instead be displayed for whole systems. And districts won’t be required to report.
Governor announces $100 million internet voucher program for students
The governor has allocated for the program $100 million of the state’s $435 million in federal CARES act funds to help the state safeguard schools amid the growing spread of COVID-19.
About half of Alabama students will start the year with virtual learning, superintendent says
As much as 50 percent of Alabama’s public school students will be learning virtually when school starts back, said Alabama’s State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey on Friday. Mackey discussed the restart of school amid COVID-19 at a press briefing hosted by Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and said that while he prefers that students get … Continued
State superintendent says challenges await when students return to class
Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said Tuesday that as public schools plan to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall, school nurses could play a critical role in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus that shuttered them. Mackey, speaking with reporters and members of the Alabama House Democratic Caucus in a webinar session Tuesday, said … Continued
Schools will remain closed for the remainder of year, in-home instruction planned
Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday announced that schools statewide would remain out for the remainder of the school year as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Ivey declared a state of emergency on March 19 and closed schools through April 6. “We had hoped at that time we would be taking these cautious … Continued
Alabama schools to suspend state testing
State school superintendent Erick Mackey announced Friday that Alabama will ask the federal government for a waiver so that the state can suspend all state testing for the rest of the year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Speaking to reporters Friday Mackey said there will also be no report cards given out for the rest … Continued