[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7215-7218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01864]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 15 / Tuesday, January 26, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 7215]]


                Executive Order 14000 of January 21, 2021

                
Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation 
                of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, to ensure that students receive a high-quality 
                education during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-
                19) pandemic, and to support the safe reopening and 
                continued operation of schools, child care providers, 
                Head Start programs, and institutions of higher 
                education, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. Every student in America deserves a 
                high-quality education in a safe environment. This 
                promise, which was already out of reach for too many, 
                has been further threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
                School and higher education administrators, educators, 
                faculty, child care providers, custodians and other 
                staff, and families have gone above and beyond to 
                support children's and students' learning and meet 
                their needs during this crisis. Students and teachers 
                alike have found new ways to teach and learn. Many 
                child care providers continue to provide care and 
                learning opportunities to children in homes and centers 
                across the country. However, leadership and support 
                from the Federal Government is needed. Two principles 
                should guide the Federal Government's response to the 
                COVID-19 crisis with respect to schools, child care 
                providers, Head Start programs, and higher education 
                institutions. First, the health and safety of children, 
                students, educators, families, and communities is 
                paramount. Second, every student in the United States 
                should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality 
                education, during and beyond the pandemic.

                Accordingly, it is the policy of my Administration to 
                provide support to help create the conditions for safe, 
                in-person learning as quickly as possible; ensure high-
                quality instruction and the delivery of essential 
                services often received by students and young children 
                at school, institutions of higher education, child care 
                providers, and Head Start programs; mitigate learning 
                loss caused by the pandemic; and address educational 
                disparities and inequities that the pandemic has 
                created and exacerbated.

                Sec. 2. Agency Roles and Responsibilities. The 
                following assignments of responsibility shall be 
                exercised in furtherance of the policy described in 
                section 1 of this order:

                    (a) The Secretary of Education shall, consistent 
                with applicable law:

(i) provide, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, evidence-based guidance to assist States and elementary and 
secondary schools in deciding whether and how to reopen, and how to remain 
open, for in-person learning; and in safely conducting in-person learning, 
including by implementing mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, 
proper ventilation, and testing;

(ii) provide, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, evidence-based guidance to institutions of higher education on 
safely reopening for in-person learning, which shall take into account 
considerations such as the institution's setting, resources, and the 
population it serves;

(iii) provide advice to State, local, Tribal, and territorial educational 
authorities, institutions of higher education, local education agencies, 
and elementary and secondary schools regarding distance and online 
learning,

[[Page 7216]]

blended learning, and in-person learning; and the promotion of mental 
health, social-emotional well-being, and communication with parents and 
families;

(iv) develop a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse to 
enable schools and institutions of higher education to share lessons 
learned and best practices for operating safely during the pandemic;

(v) provide technical assistance to schools and institutions of higher 
education so that they can ensure high-quality learning during the 
pandemic;

(vi) direct the Department of Education's Assistant Secretary for Civil 
Rights to deliver a report as soon as practicable on the disparate impacts 
of COVID-19 on students in elementary, secondary, and higher education, 
including those attending historically black colleges and universities, 
Tribal colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other 
minority-serving institutions;

(vii) coordinate with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
to facilitate, consistent with applicable law, the collection of data 
necessary to fully understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 
students and educators, including data on the status of in-person learning. 
These data shall be disaggregated by student demographics, including race, 
ethnicity, disability, English-language-learner status, and free or reduced 
lunch status or other appropriate indicators of family income; and

(viii) consult with those who have been struggling for months with the 
enormous challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses for education, including 
students; educators; unions; families; State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial officials; and members of civil rights and disability rights 
organizations, in carrying out the directives in this order.

                    (b) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                shall, consistent with applicable law:

(i) facilitate the collection of data needed to inform the safe reopening 
and continued operation of elementary and secondary schools, child care 
providers, and Head Start programs, and ensure that such data are readily 
available to State, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders and the public, 
consistent with privacy interests, and that such data are disaggregated by 
race, ethnicity, and other factors as appropriate;

(ii) ensure, in coordination with the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response 
and Counselor to the President (COVID-19 Response Coordinator) and other 
relevant agencies, that COVID-19-related supplies the Secretary 
administers, including testing materials, are equitably allocated to 
elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, and Head Start 
programs to support in-person care and learning;

(iii) to the maximum extent possible, support the development and operation 
of contact tracing programs at the State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
level, by providing guidance and technical support to ensure that contact 
tracing is available to facilitate the reopening and safe operation of 
elementary and secondary schools, child care providers, Head Start 
programs, and institutions of higher education;

(iv) provide guidance needed for child care providers and Head Start 
programs for safely reopening and operating, including procedures for 
mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation, and 
testing, as well as guidance related to meeting the needs of children, 
families, and staff who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, 
including trauma-informed care, behavioral and mental health support, and 
family support, as appropriate; and

(v) provide technical assistance to States, localities, Tribes, and 
territories to support the accelerated distribution of Federal COVID-19 
relief funds to child care providers, and identify strategies to help child 
care providers safely remain open during the pandemic and beyond while the 
sector

[[Page 7217]]

experiences widespread financial disruption due to increased costs and less 
revenue.

                    (c) The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of 
                Health and Human Services shall submit a report to the 
                Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the 
                COVID-19 Response Coordinator identifying strategies to 
                address the impact of COVID-19 on educational outcomes, 
                especially along racial and socioeconomic lines, and 
                shall share those strategies with State, local, Tribal, 
                and territorial officials. In developing these 
                strategies, the Secretaries shall, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law, consult with such 
                officials, as well as with education experts; 
                educators; unions; civil rights advocates; Tribal 
                education experts; public health experts; child 
                development experts; early educators, including child 
                care providers; Head Start staff; school technology 
                practitioners; foundations; families; students; 
                community advocates; and others.
                    (d) The Federal Communications Commission is 
                encouraged, consistent with applicable law, to increase 
                connectivity options for students lacking reliable home 
                broadband, so that they can continue to learn if their 
                schools are operating remotely.

                Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 7218]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 21, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-01864
Filed 1-25-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P