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Parents and Families: The application for P-EBT benefits is now open until Aug. 13. P-EBT provides food benefits to families with eligible children who temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price meals during the 2020–21 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) clarified coronavirus advice for American schools, recommending the continued, universal use of masks and physical distancing, after the agency’s sudden announcement that vaccinated Americans could forego masks indoors. “Our school guidance to complete the school year will not change,” CDC director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, said, adding that the agency would work over the summer to update its school guidance for the fall. Two recent scientific findings were significant factors in the CDC’s decision to change its advice on mask-wearing for vaccinated people: few of those vaccinated become infected with the virus and transmission seems rarer still, and the vaccines widely used in the United States appear to be effective against all known variants of the coronavirus. Separately, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has reiterated that he expects all schools to fully reopen in the fall. At the same time, he sought to ease any political pressure on schools, saying whether to open and how to open shouldn’t become a political battle. “I do believe that this isn't a partisan issue,” Cardona said. “It's a student issue. We need to get our students in school as quickly as possible. But I also know that we can't compromise safety to do that.“