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 document their distance learning and supplemental feeding programs from March to June 2020. The dataset captures the availability and delivery methods of these programs, collected from public district announcements and social media. It provides a national snapshot of educational and nutritional support during the initial pandemic response.

Use Cases

• Analyze the correlation between a district's free/reduced-price lunch eligibility quartile and the availability of distance learning programs.
• Compare the delivery methods for supplemental feeding programs across different economic strata of school districts.
• Study the relationship between the public announcement methods (district websites, Facebook, Twitter) used and the types of programs offered.

Strengths

• Data is based on a stratified random sample of 600 school districts, designed with a 95% confidence interval of 50% ± 10%.
• Sampling was structured by a key economic indicator: the percentage of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch, divided into quartiles.
• Information was systematically gathered from multiple public sources: district websites, official social media pages, and Google news searches.

Limitations

• The sample of 600 districts may not be fully representative of all U.S. school districts' experiences.
• Data relies on publicly posted announcements, which may not fully capture on-the-ground implementation or program quality.
• The time range is limited to the first four months (March-June 2020) of the pandemic response.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Data collected from publicly available announcements on school district websites and official social media pages; Google searches supplemented missing information.

Time Range

March 2020 - June 2020

Freshness

Data reflects the period March-June 2020; metadata was last updated in February 2026.

Geography

United States