Volume 29, Number 5—May 2023
Research
Disparities in Implementing COVID-19 Prevention Strategies in Public Schools, United States, 2021–22 School Year
Sanjana Pampati
, Catherine N. Rasberry, Zach Timpe, Luke McConnell, Shamia Moore, Patricia Spencer, Sarah Lee, Colleen Crittenden Murray, Susan Hocevar Adkins, Sarah Conklin, Xiaoyi Deng, Ronaldo Iachan, Tasneem Tripathi, and Lisa C. Barrios
, Catherine N. Rasberry, Zach Timpe, Luke McConnell, Shamia Moore, Patricia Spencer, Sarah Lee, Colleen Crittenden Murray, Susan Hocevar Adkins, Sarah Conklin, Xiaoyi Deng, Ronaldo Iachan, Tasneem Tripathi, and Lisa C. Barrios
Table
Prevalence of COVID-19 prevention strategies implemented by K-12 public schools (N = 437) and school-level characteristics, National School COVID-19 Prevention Study, United States, October 5‒November 19, 2021*
| Characteristic | No. | % (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 prevention strategy† |
||
| Required masks for students and staff |
||
| Yes |
263 |
66.4 (61.9–70.6) |
| No |
139 |
33.6 (29.4–38.1) |
| Inspected and validated existing HVAC systems |
||
| Yes |
318 |
74.6 (69.8–78.8) |
| No |
40 |
10.4 (7.5–14.1) |
| Don’t know |
60 |
15.1 (11.7–19.2) |
| Replaced or upgraded HVAC |
||
| Yes |
161 |
39.1 (34.3–44.0) |
| No |
176 |
41.6 (36.6–46.7) |
| Don’t know |
81 |
19.4 (15.6–23.8) |
| Installed or used HEPA filtration systems in classrooms |
||
| Yes |
121 |
27.3 (23.3–31.7) |
| No |
249 |
60.6 (55.6–65.3) |
| Don’t know |
47 |
12.2 (9.1–16.1) |
| Opened doors when safe to do so |
||
| Yes |
278 |
65.9 (61.2–70.2) |
| No |
127 |
30.9 (26.6–35.4) |
| Don’t know |
13 |
3.3 (1.8–5.8) |
| Opened windows when safe to do so |
||
| Yes |
283 |
66.8 (62.2–71.1) |
| No |
120 |
29.2 (25.1–33.6) |
| Don’t know |
14 |
4.0 (2.4–6.8) |
| Adhered to at least to daily or between use cleaning schedules |
||
| Yes |
331 |
79.7 (75.5–83.4) |
| No |
89 |
20.3 (16.6–24.5) |
| Maintained physical distance in classrooms |
||
| >3 feet |
310 |
74.3 (69.8–78.4) |
| No physical distancing requirements or <3 feet |
110 |
25.7 (21.6–30.2) |
| Had a school-based system to report COVID-19 outcomes |
||
| Yes |
395 |
95.1 (92.5–96.8) |
| No or don’t know |
22 |
4.9 (3.2–7.5) |
| Had a COVID-19 isolation space in school |
||
| Yes |
383 |
92.5 (89.4–94.7) |
| No |
32 |
7.1 (5.0–10.2) |
| Don’t know |
‡ |
‡ |
| Offered COVID-19 diagnostic testing to students and staff |
||
| Yes |
293 |
68.7 (63.8–73.3) |
| No |
124 |
31.3 (26.7–36.2) |
| Offered COVID-19 screening testing to students and staff |
||
| Yes |
40 |
9.3 (6.9–12.5) |
| No |
377 |
90.7 (87.5–93.1) |
| Conducted contact tracing |
||
| Yes |
228 |
53.4 (48.5–58.3) |
| No |
167 |
41.5 (36.7–46.5) |
| Don’t know |
22 |
5.1 (3.3–7.8) |
| Quarantined students identified as close contacts |
||
| Yes |
322 |
83.5 (79.3–87.0) |
| No |
65 |
16.5 (13.0–20.7) |
| Provided information on COVID-19 vaccines to parents |
||
| Yes |
275 |
65.8 (60.8–70.5) |
| No |
125 |
30.4 (25.9–35.4) |
| Don’t know |
15 |
3.8 (2.2–6.3) |
| Provided information on COVID-19 vaccines to students |
||
| Yes |
183 |
43.6 (38.9–48.4) |
| No |
217 |
52.7 (47.8–57.6) |
| Don’t know |
15 |
3.7 (2.2–6.2) |
| Provided parents or students with information about catching up on missed healthcare (e.g., routine vaccines) |
||
| Yes |
215 |
52.3 (47.0–57.6) |
| No |
159 |
38.2 (33.2–43.5) |
| Don’t know |
41 |
9.5 (7.0–12.8) |
| Provided COVID-19 vaccines on-campus to staff, students, or their families |
||
| Yes |
124 |
30.9 (26.5–35.8) |
| No |
284 |
67.6 (62.8–72.2) |
| Don’t know |
‡ |
‡ |
| Provided COVID-19 vaccines through school district events to staff, students, or their families |
||
| Yes |
219 |
53.0 (48.0–58.0) |
| No |
196 |
47.0 (42.0–52.0) |
| Tracked vaccination status of students |
||
| Yes |
139 |
33.7 (29.1–38.6) |
| No |
276 |
66.3 (61.4–70.9) |
| Tracked vaccination status of staff |
||
| Yes |
247 |
59.9 (55.0–64.6) |
| No |
168 |
40.1 (35.4–45.0) |
| School-level characteristics |
||
| School level |
||
| Elementary |
236 |
52.4 (51.1–53.7) |
| Middle |
108 |
25.7 (24.6–26.8) |
| High |
93 |
21.9 (20.8–23.0) |
| NCES locale |
||
| City |
117 |
29.4 (27.3–31.6) |
| Suburb |
121 |
32.3 (29.9–34.7) |
| Town |
55 |
12.9 (11.6–14.2) |
| Rural |
102 |
25.4 (23.4–27.5) |
| School-level poverty |
||
| Low-poverty |
77 |
18.2 (14.7–22.2) |
| Mid-poverty |
227 |
58.1 (53.0–63.0) |
| High-poverty |
96 |
23.7 (19.6–28.4) |
| Full-time school nurse |
||
| Yes |
244 |
60.4 (56.1–64.5) |
| No |
179 |
39.6 (35.5–43.9) |
| School-based health center |
||
| Yes |
69 |
17.3 (13.7–21.7) |
| No | 354 | 82.7 (78.3–86.3) |
*Numbers are unweighted. Percentages and 95% CIs are weighted. HEPA, high-efficiency particulate air; HVAC, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; K–12, kindergarten through 12th grade; NCES, National Center for Education Statistics. †Appendix Table 1 describes survey questions and operationalization for COVID-19 prevention strategies. ‡Prevalence suppressed because relative SE is >30%.
Page created: March 15, 2023
Page updated: April 18, 2023
Page reviewed: April 18, 2023
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