Equitable Transitions in the COVID-19 Era

When the coronavirus pandemic spread across the United States this spring, shuttering schools and college campuses, it disrupted the educational trajectory for all students nationwide — but perhaps none more than the 3.7 million seniors who graduated from high school. In addition to missing out on all the fanfare that is traditionally associated with high school graduation, many graduates left with ambiguity about their readiness for college-level coursework and uncertainty about whether their college or career plans would be a possibility in the fall — for financial, logistical and other reasons. This new Policy Guide, informed by experts at 20 organizations steeped in the work of improving student outcomes, identifies both short- and long-term state policy solutions to the most pressing challenges at this time for students historically underserved in our nation’s education system.