U.S. School District Distance Learning and Meal Programs During COVID-19 Closures

600 U.S. school districts were sampled based on student economic status to collect data on distance learning and supplemental feeding program availability during March-June 2020. The dataset captures program delivery methods gathered from district websites, social media, and news sources. It was created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Use Cases

• Analyze the correlation between district economic status (free/reduced-price lunch eligibility quartiles) and the availability of distance learning programs.
• Compare the method of delivery for supplemental feeding programs across the sampled 600 school districts.
• Study the relationship between the availability of distance learning and supplemental feeding programs during the specified time period.

Strengths

• Data collection followed a stratified sampling methodology based on a key economic indicator from the National Center for Education Statistics.
• The sample of 600 districts was designed with a 95% confidence interval of 50% ± 10%.
• Information was gathered from multiple public sources including official district websites and social media pages.

Limitations

• The sample size of 600 districts may not be fully representative of all U.S. school districts.
• Data relies on publicly available announcements, which may be incomplete or inconsistently reported across districts.
• The time range is limited to the early pandemic period of March to June 2020.

Provenance

Source

United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Collection Method

Stratified random sample of districts; data collected from public district announcements, social media, and news searches.

Time Range

March-June 2020

Freshness

The metadata was last updated in February 2026, but the underlying data covers March-June 2020.

Geography

United States