New York State launched a COVID-19 Report Card for every school district in New York, but there is still confusion surrounding this website.

The goal of this report card website is to keep parents and teachers updated on the number of positive coronavirus cases in their districts. 

However, Jay Worona, deputy executive director for the New York State School Boards Association says that while they understand the importance of this data reporting, they worry this process could lead to inconsistencies. 

“There’s still a question mark, not a criticism so much just a question mark, as to how this is going to play out,” Worona explained.

The COVID-19 report card is run by the health department and they collect two types of data every day. 

The first is from schools. Schools submit daily the number of positive cases, if they are teaching remote or in person and number of students and faculty on campus. 

The health department then also collects the number of positive cases from the labs, to compare with the numbers from schools. 

But school districts worry about inconsistencies with numbers being reported twice. 

“If the consumer a.k.a. the parents receive data from two different sources, does that really help them understand what the state is trying to help them understand,” Worona questioned. “A.k.a. the transmission of this virus.”

Gareth Rhodes, an advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo, explained that the reason they are collecting both, is to try and be as accurate and comprehensive as possible. 

A lab might report that a student living in a certain district tested positive, but that student could attend a private school. 

Therefore, having data from both the school and the labs can help them compare the two numbers.

But he admits, it won’t always be perfect. 

“It will not always match up perfectly, because sometimes when the school district reports and when the lab reports there might be a slight lag,” Rhodes explained. “But the goal here really is to give parents and New Yorkers full transparency.”

However, Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy with the State Council of Superintendents says this reason is exactly why there are concerns with reporting both. 

Discrepancies could lead parents to mistrust the system. 

“Seeing those positive cases listed can lead parents to think, ‘Oh what’s going on here, is my child at risk? Why is this data different then what our district is telling us? Are they not telling us the truth?” And that can create confusion, alarm and even distrust and so that is something we are concerned about,” Lowry explained.

Schools must also report all this data daily by 4 p.m., piling on more stress to already burdened school districts. 

“Before it was always a question of how can we dispense the best possible education,” Worona said. “Now the question has been since March, how can we ensure that we are protecting human life? And that’s a responsibility that everyone in your viewing audience can well imagine, people don’t sleep at night because of that.”

Schools that do not report this information daily and on time are at risk of facing civil penalties.