COVID-19

State and local agencies have until Dec. 31 to commit federal funds they received through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund as part of the response to the pandemic. Anything not obligated must be returned.

A report released last week by the Center on Reinventing Public Education shows most state report cards lack the data and features necessary for parents to easily compare schools or view student progress over time.

Experts say student outcomes should drive decisions about which ed-tech tools and other investments to keep or cut when the massive cash infusion from pandemic relief winds down at the end of this month.

Without in-person services, thousands fewer students in Washington were evaluated for disabilities and subsequently didn't get accommodations that may have severely impacted their ability to do schoolwork.

Cities are no longer seeing their miles of streetscape as cheap parking spaces. Curbs are now considered some of the most in-demand pieces of urban real estate, and technology is stepping up to help manage them.

Those at the helm of city technology offices often have to make the case for introducing digital innovation into processes and services. Their advice: Start with the projects people care about and that can show cost savings.

Pedestrian activity declined in all of the top 100 metros in the United States between 2019 and 2022, driven in part by commuting and other mobility changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dallas County Health and Human Services is continuing to enhance the public health platform that it centralized several years ago to monitor and improve the health of county residents and prepare for any future health crises.

About 157 million trips were taken with micromobility devices in 2022, mirroring the level of ridership in 2019. The increase seems to indicate a full recovery from the steep pandemic downturn.

Recently passed and proposed legislation across the country is bolstering telehealth expansion by redefining telehealth benefit specifications, enabling coverage across state lines and eliminating patient care obstacles for medical professionals.

A new report by INRIX shows that traffic and transit activity is still down in the nation’s largest cities when compared to pre-2020 levels, a sustained byproduct of remote work arrangements.

As transit agencies brainstorm how to better serve communities that have been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, they are taking a look at how technology can help to lower the barrier for ridership and deliver new outcomes.

Libraries once struggled to keep up with demand for public computers. Now branches are removing them as they move toward a future built on providing a wide array of technology to patrons.

The federal government doled out grant money through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund over three rounds, and much of it went toward keeping students enrolled via distance learning.

The American Chemical Society, a nonprofit chartered by the U.S. Congress, announced in March that scientists have used a nanomaterial to construct a device capable of detecting the viruses that cause COVID-19.

Electric buses may be a dream vehicle for sustainability watchers, but they are not adding new ridership or saving public transit from the formidable financial headwinds agencies are facing.

A mode shift toward more sustainable transportation like micromobility and transit will take more than an app. It will require a reimagining of cities and how transportation infrastructure is prioritized.

With new state funding available to districts that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are upgrading to environmentally efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.