School Closures - an Ethical Challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many countries around the world to take drastic measures. Regardless of the epidemiological impact, it is undisputed that these measures have had significant negative effects on scholastic attainment, psychosocial and physical health of children and adolescents. Given their consequences, such interventions evoke the question of their ethical justifiability. This article introduces the most common ethical theories and, building on them, discusses the ethical evaluation of the COVID-19-related school closures.