Business leaders play a critical role in ensuring that our education systems enable young people to gain the skills, knowledge, and experiences they need to be successful in the current and future economy. Business voices can be powerful tools to help shape policy, champion programs, and advocate for greater coordination and alignment among the early childhood, K-12, higher education, and workforce systems. Yet despite the long history of interaction between the education and business sectors, relatively little research has examined how business organizations successfully advocate on behalf of education policy priorities.

As leaders consider reopening schools in the fall, there are numerous versions of what schooling could look like in different communities. But leaders can begin planning right away even amid uncertainty. This new resource zeroes in on the three most strategically and operationally distinct scenarios: all in-person learning, all distance learning, or a hybrid. Given the virus’ unpredictability and the high possibility of “rolling closures,” leaders will be in a strong position if they have plans that cover these core scenarios and are ready to move between them.

This resource library includes specific and tactical recommendations on how to support students who are engaged with systems of care — such as the foster care system, health and human services, and immigration — during COVID-19.