Parents, educators and school nurses are calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to take steps toward a comprehensive state-run COVID-19 protection plan.

They say with the Omicron variant causing surges in hospitalizations across Massachusetts, the Commonwealth needs a state-run in-school vaccination program, state-sponsored distribution of high-quality masks and a state-coordinated, state-financed and transparent testing program for every school district.

Jacqueline Velez, parent of a public school student in Springfield, is advocating for change.

"You would not send a fireman into a burning building without protective gear, police on the streets without a means to communicate with their counterparts," Velez asserted. "So during a global pandemic, why would we send teachers and public school staff into school buildings without the best possible accommodations we can send them in with?"

COVID-19 vaccination rates among children five to 11 years old are low in some of the Commonwealth's poorest communities. Fewer than 20% of younger children are vaccinated in Athol, Fall River, New Bedford, Brockton and Springfield.

Cara Berg Powers, interim executive director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, said some schools and school districts are better prepared than others. She noted while millions of dollars in federal funds are coming to schools, some have critical repair backlogs and ventilation needs, and will not have any leftover funds for personal protective equipment, testing or vaccinations.

"Inequity is inevitable when we do not have a comprehensive strategy and ask districts to take things on themselves, ask families to take things on themselves, and ask 8-year-olds like my daughter to be public health experts," Berg Powers contended.

Baker announced plans last week to provide rapid at-home test kits to schools and child-care providers, as the existing state-run testing system has been strained by the latest surge.

More than 600,000 Missourians have some postsecondary experience but have not earned a college degree or credential. Some Missouri colleges and universities want to change that, through an initiative called Degrees When Due.

The University of Central Missouri is one of the participating schools. Brenda Fuhr, the university's academic advisor and lead coordinator of student transition and engagement, said they've been working to identify students who've stopped out, to see what their options are. They might have to finish up a few course requirements, or they may already qualify for what's known as a general studies degree. She said financial concerns also are a factor.

"Students leaving without a degree and having debt - that is a large burden for them as they're trying to go into the workforce," she said.

A report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which runs the Degrees When Due national program, said about one-third of "near-completers" are missing courses specific to their major, more than a quarter are missing general education courses and nearly 15% are missing a math requirement.

Laurel Hogue, vice provost of online and learning engagement at the university, noted that UCM identified about 450 students in a five-year period who had left the university in good academic standing - meaning they had higher than a 2.0 grade-point average and at least 90 credit hours. Hogue said a common reason for leaving was needing more flexibility, such as a hybrid or online option for classes, while others cited cost.

"We had identified 120 of them who actually had left the university with some financial debt," she said, "which means they couldn't enroll in their next semester because they had owed money from the previous semester that they were enrolled in."

She added that the average debt for those students was just $1,800. According to the report, 10% of folks with some college but no credential actually already have earned a degree, but it hasn't been awarded - often because of financial holds or incomplete paperwork. Black, Brown and Indigenous students were more likely to be in that 10% than their white peers.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Two community colleges in New Hampshire are joining the Second Chance Pell Experiment through the U.S. Department of Education to offer courses and degrees or credentials to people in prison in their areas.

White Mountains Community College is one of them. It's based in Berlin, which has two correctional facilities: FCI Berlin, a federal prison; and Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility, a state prison. Dr. Kristin Miller, WMCC's vice president for academic affairs, said its Second Chance Pell program will start by offering liberal-arts and business-administration programs.

"Access to education is really challenging for anybody, let alone those that are incarcerated," she said, "so this allows students the opportunity to better themselves while they're there, and then be able to support the workforce in their communities."

Miller noted that people who receive education as they serve their sentences are less likely to end up back in prison once they're released. Studies have found that young people in particular are more likely to be rearrested after leaving prison, but also have a lot to gain from education while they are there.

The other participating school is NHTI-Concord's Community College, for its proximity to the New Hampshire State Prison for Men. Dr. Andrew Fisher, NHTI's vice president for academic affairs, said incarcerated students will be able to take courses in advanced manufacturing - a program already available to Granite Staters in transitional housing - as well as hospitality, tourism and medical billing.

"Medical billing allows for flexible work - flexible work hours, flexible work environments, and experiences," he said, "and so it's pretty naturally tuned to the ability to support students once they move out of incarcerated status and transitional housing, and then even beyond that."

Fisher added that this program is important because it provides job skills people can use as soon as they're released.

"But it also has a lot to do with finding confidence in feeling, within a normalized educational system, that you are a part of society and that you're able to gain credentials that, outside of this system, have value and meaning."

The Second Chance Pell Experiment first was launched under the Obama-Biden administration in 2015, and has helped incarcerated students earn more than $7,000 credentials.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Funding from the infrastructure measure Congress passed last year could benefit a struggling rural community in Oregon. Lawmakers in the state have requested part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act go toward modernizing the port at Coos Bay.

The region has seen a decline in timber harvest. Supporters argued a thriving port could bring jobs back, which also could benefit the local school system.

Teri Jones, a school librarian in Coos Bay, said kids growing up in Coos Bay typically have to move away after they graduate, but an upgraded port could change it.

"Whether they're going to school or another occupation, they're probably going to have to start out somewhere else, because there are no jobs here," Jones pointed out. "This is a really exciting opportunity."

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have asked the Biden administration to make funds available for the Coos Bay port. Earlier this month, the administration developed a plan to reduce red tape and accelerate federal permitting and environmental reviews for projects.

Valerie Eiselien, special education assistant in Coos Bay, said the region needs to be cautious with how it handles the port upgrade, so it does not disturb the sensitive and unique estuary in the area. The facility is designed to be the first ship-to-rail port facility on the West Coast to cut down on emissions from trucking.

Eiselien thinks it would be worth it if the economics ultimately benefit local families and their kids.

"Funding should always be based around them. They are our next generation, you know, that are going to run our companies and our businesses," Eiselien contended. "Let's educate them and show them that this is their future."

Jones believes kids in Coos Bay would benefit from a productive port for a simple reason.

"When we talk about school success, we tend to look at test scores and attendance," Jones noted. "I've always maintained, personally, that regardless of the programs and curriculum you implement, if you raise the socioeconomic threshold of a community, you will raise test scores."

Supporters of the port also said it would help with supply-chain issues on the West Coast. The upgrade could make the facility one of the busiest in the country.