Transparent COVID Data Reporting Recommendations

DCPS should report data about staff and student cases in a timely manner, and report which classroom or cohort reports cases to the wider school community. In addition, DCPS should collect information on student vaccination and report aggregated information on vaccination status among all those present in a school community - staff and students - to inform DCPS and family/community assessment of transmission risk within each school. With data, the public can quickly assess whether DCPS’s policies and mitigations are working to keep children safe. Without it, we’ll have a school year of anxiety and rumors. Data should be reported daily, through established mechanisms on coronavirus.dc.gov, rather than sometimes taking many days to report school cases publicly as is currently the case. Individual school information on vaccinations, cases, and mitigations, including when routine HVAC maintenance is performed, should be reported in one place so families and educators can see the full picture of their school’s full COVID-safety picture all at once.  DC must not attempt to “hide the ball” with our children’s health.