Maryland students have had the second-least amount of access to in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that 100% of students in Wyoming and Montana had access to full-time, in-person instruction between September and April, while at the other end of the spectrum, only about 2.3% of Maryland students had such access, Maryland Matters reported.
Only Hawaii had a worse rate with 1.3%.
The study said racial disparities in Maryland were small, with students of color being 3.5% less likely to have in-person learning access because most schools were closed.
Overall, the report said the highest racial disparities were in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where, on average, students of color were respectively 21% and 23% less likely to have access to full-time, in-person learning. The smallest gaps were in Montana and Wyoming — where every student had in-person access — in addition to D.C., Delaware and Hawaii.
The report’s lead author was Brown University economist Emily Oster, an outspoken advocate for reopening schools.
