Responses to COVID-19 School Closures: A Scan of Continuity of Education Plans for Allegheny County Public Schools

In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic caused schools to close for the remainder of the school year, all Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools were required to "make good faith efforts to implement continuity of education plans for the duration of the 2019-20 school year." RFA analyzed these plans for each of the 43 districts and for 13 charter schools located in Allegheny County. During these months of remote instruction in Allegheny County: (1) Districts and charters relied heavily on asynchronous (work at your own pace) instruction and alternative grading and attendance tracking; (2) Students missed significant amounts of formal instruction time; (3) The overall quality of remote instruction varied widely, with students experiencing inequitable access to devices and other technology; (4) Most plans provided only vague descriptions of how they would provide special education and student support services; and (5) Access to quality remote instruction varied by student race and poverty. [This is a publication of Allegheny County Education Research (ACER).]