This page has been archived as of January 6, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Education requires that each state education agency make certain data public as a component of the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The purpose is to inform stakeholders such as students, families, and community members of the number of schools offering fully remote, fully in-person, or hybrid instruction across Pennsylvania. Publicizing these data can also shed light on the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning by illustrating which groups of students were enrolled in schools offering remote, in-person, or hybrid instruction at a point in time.
About the data: The tables below use October 2020 student enrollment data submitted by schools, which are the most recent and accurate available. The tables below also use the mode of instruction as of October 2020 for schools in public school entities (including school districts, charter schools, cyber charter schools, and career and technical centers). The student groups listed are those requested by the U.S. Department of Education.
Public School Operating Status and Mode of Instruction October 2020
| Mode of Instruction | Offered to all students | Offered to some students | Not offered | Total number of schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote or online only | 635 | 1,977 | 302 | 2,914 |
| School buildings open with both remote/online and in-person instruction (hybrid) | 182 | 1,910 | 822 | 2,914 |
| School buildings open with full-time in-person instruction | 62 | 950 | 1,902 | 2,914 |
How to read this table: The first table tells us the mode of instruction for a total of 2,914 public schools as of October 2020. At that time, 635 schools were offering only remote learning to all students, 1,977 schools were offering remote learning to some students, and 302 schools were not offering remote learning. The last row of the table shows that 62 schools were offering full-time in-person learning to all students, 950 schools were offering full-time in-person learning to some students, and 1,902 schools were not offering full-time in-person learning in October 2020.
Mode of Instruction by Student Subgroup as of October 2020
| Student subgroup | Number of enrolled students | Remote or online only | Both remote/online and in-person instruction (hybrid) | Full-time in-person instruction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students from low-income families | 715,065 | 402,135 (56.2%) | 245,657 (34.4%) | 67,273 (9.4%) |
| White, not Hispanic | 977,031 | 297,696 (30.5%) | 521,586 (53.4%) | 157,749 (16.1%) |
| Black or African American, not Hispanic | 214,138 | 173,840 (81.2%) | 34,777 (16.2%) | 5,521 (2.6%) |
| Hispanic, of any race | 217,773 | 153,603 (70.5%) | 53,474 (24.6%) | 10,696 (4.9%) |
| Asian, not Hispanic | 70,170 | 46,273 (65.9%) | 20,528 (29.3%) | 3,369 (4.8%) |
| American Indian or Alaskan Native, not Hispanic | 2,355 | 1,210 (51.4%) | 847 (36.0%) | 298 (12.7%) |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, not Hispanic | 1,287 | 685 (53.2%) | 491 (38.2%) | 111 (8.6%) |
| Two or more races, not Hispanic | 70,845 | 35,654 (50.3%) | 27,371 (38.6%) | 7,820 (11.0%) |
| Race/Ethnicity information not available | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Female | 753,226 | 350,219 (46.5%) | 314,903 (41.8%) | 88,104 (11.7%) |
| Male | 800,373 | 358,742 (44.8%) | 344,171 (43.0%) | 97,460 (12.2%) |
| English learners | 72,788 | 54,079 (74.3%) | 15,819 (21.7%) | 2,890 (4.0%) |
| Children with disabilities | 271,557 | 124,031 (45.7%) | 116,218 (42.8%) | 31,308 (11.5%) |
| Students experiencing homelessness* | 19,691 | 11,909 (60.5%) | 6,252 (31.8%) | 1,530(7.8%) |
| Children and youth in foster care* | 9,790 | 5,549 (56.7%) | 3,231 (33.0%) | 1,010 (10.3%) |
| Migratory students* | 3,353 | 2,450 (73.1%) | 675 (20.1%) | 228 (6.8%) |
*Indicates students identified as subgroup in 2019-20 school year. Data will be updated when complete subgroup lists are finalized for 2020-21 school year.
How to read this table: The second table tells us about groups of students and how many of them had access to in-person, remote, or hybrid learning. For example, if you want to know what kinds of instruction English learners could access in October 2020, read across the fifth row from the bottom. There are 72,788 students enrolled in Pennsylvania public schools who are classified as English learners. In October 2020, about 74% of English learners were enrolled in schools that only offered remote instruction—in other words, about 3 out of every 4 English learners had access to only remote learning at that point. About 22% of English learners were enrolled in schools with hybrid instruction, and about 4% of English learners were enrolled in schools that offered full-time in-person instruction.
Another way to read this table is to look down the columns and compare across groups. For example, if you want to know which students were the most likely to go to a school with full-time in-person instruction in October 2020, you can look down the column on the far right and see that 16.1% of white students were enrolled in a school that offered full-time in-person instruction in October 2020, and that is the most of any group. By comparison, 2.6% of Black students, 4.9% of Hispanic students, and 4.8% of Asian students were enrolled in a school that offered full-time in-person instruction in October 2020.