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Tennessee to publish school-related COVID-19 data beginning next week: How we got to this point and why #journalismmatters.
THREAD
https://twitter.com/memangrum/status/1301613716224512003
THREAD
https://twitter.com/memangrum/status/1301613716224512003
Tennessee @GovBillLee officially announced the state's guidance for reopening schools on July 28. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/07/28/tennessee-schools-gov-bill-lee-unveils-plan-help-schools-reopen-safely/5527415002/
At the time Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn and Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said neither department would collect, track or release data on confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to schools.
From @joelebert29 https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/30/tennessee-will-not-collect-release-data-coronavirus-cases-schools-reopening/5534992002/
From @joelebert29
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/30/tennessee-will-not-collect-release-data-coronavirus-cases-schools-reopening/5534992002/
Within days, thanks to lots of pressure from citizens and local journalists, Gov. Bill Lee backtracked and said the state would was working to create a plan for reporting the data. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/04/tennessee-gov-bill-lee-now-says-state-working-plan-publicly-share-covid-19-data-schools/3293563001/
Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey alleged that her comments had been misconstrued and reported. She said the Tennessee Department of Health had always intended on tracking the data, the question was just whether it would be reported publicly.
Within days, the @TNDeptofHealth released a new daily data point tracking the number of COVID-19 cases among school-aged children (5-18) in each county, but again, refused to report the number of cases in specific schools. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/18/tennessee-refuses-release-information-covid-19-cases-schools/3394684001/
The @TNedu also initially launched a dashboard tracking school closures across the state, but much of the original data was out-of-date or not helpful. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/11/tennessee-launches-dashboard-track-school-closings-due-coronavirus/3349767001/
Meanwhile, dozens of cases were already being reported in Tennessee schools as districts reopened as the state. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/05/tennessee-school-districts-reported-coronavirus-cases/3296529001/
After mounting pressure, @GovBillLee again backpedaled and said the state wanted to be "as transparent as possible". https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/20/lee-says-tn-working-with-feds-on-how-to-report-covid-19-data-in-schools/3402180001/
A silver lining of this flip-floppy saga was that the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee banded together to track reported COVID-19 cases.
With the help of @Tennessean, @knoxnews and @memphisnews, and other network reporters launched a searchable database. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/24/report-cases-covid-19-tennessee-schools-tennessean/5623643002/
With the help of @Tennessean, @knoxnews and @memphisnews, and other network reporters launched a searchable database. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/24/report-cases-covid-19-tennessee-schools-tennessean/5623643002/
(Shout out to the @indystar for inspiring this database).
If this thread doesn't show you how hard folks work to hold governmental institutions accountable and make sure you have access to the information you deserve, I don't know what will.
#supportlocaljournalism (and subscribe to The @Tennessean)
#supportlocaljournalism (and subscribe to The @Tennessean)
