State Education Agency Governance, Virtual Learning, and Student Privacy: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The rapid transition to emergency remote teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic altered public education as schools closed across the United States. Eighty percent of teachers reported interacting with students online, often utilizing free technology like Zoom and Google Workspace for Education. This article provides a comprehensive overview of state education agencies’ recommendations for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 school closures in early 2020. Reviewing 337 publicly available documents from 50 state education agencies reveals a fragmented response: state education agencies relied on nongovernmental organizations to do the work of governance.