Presidential Documents

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

7216 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 26, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

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 minorityserving 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 

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

7218 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 26, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

(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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

January 21, 2021. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01864 

Filed 1–25–21; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


BIDEN.EPS</GPH>