What You Should Know The coronavirus pandemic utterly disrupted the lives and education of the nation’s 50 million public school students. Most schools in the United States closed in March 2020, and many public schools did not open fully for the majority of the 2020-21 school year. There are doubts that schools will open fully this fall, particularly in areas heavily influenced by teachers’ unions. The pandemic opened parents’ eyes to just how unresponsive and inflexible school districts are to their children’s needs. As the country emerges from the pandemic, parents are engaging in school board meetings, running for school board, and demanding accountability from the local leaders more than ever before.