In addition to the actions announced Thursday to reopen K-12 schools in the context of the pandemic, Biden signed several education-related executive documents on his first day in office. Thursday’s actions include a call for the education and health departments to take a more active role in collecting, compiling, analyzing and communicating data and best practices to help schools and businesses reopen safely. Student Loans: In an executive action signed Wednesday, the Education Department provided about 41 million federal student loan borrowers by September. Large districts such as Chicago and Fairfax County, Va. Large districts, especially in Chicago and Fairfax County, Calif. are struggling to add large numbers of students for the first time this school year, while others are closing their doors because of staffing shortages caused by quarantine outbreaks. He affirmed the right of children to access restrooms, locker rooms and other school facilities regardless of their identity or sexual orientation, an issue that made headlines when DeVos overturned a similar directive from the Obama era. President Biden called the reopening of schools a “national emergency” and said that he “wants most K-12 schools in America to be open within his first 100 days in office by April. Auxiliary workplaces, such as movie theaters, depended on frequent and rapid testing to operate safely during the pandemic, but access to testing for teachers and students was limited by the budget. These measures follow those signed Wednesday to improve college access and ease the burden on student loan borrowers. More Personal Protective Equipment: Schools can get full refunds of supplies like masks, coats and gloves through the Federal Emergency Management Agency fund. More tests: The Pandemic Testing Committee will use the Defense Production Act and other resources to prepare and distribute more tests, including in schools. This makes it difficult to monitor, isolate or even understand the impact of opening schools on the course of a pandemic or the effectiveness of various safety protocols. On Thursday, he announced he would sign several executive orders, including measures to move the process forward. Better Data: To date, centralized national data on coronavirus cases or outbreaks in schools have not been collected. “I’m not sure the department will have a role in collecting and aggregating that data,” former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said in October. Nathan Grebil takes a fourth-grade temperature during a physical exam in October at Bel Aire Elementary School in Tiburon, Calif. College Access: Biden made the announcement to end the so-called Muslim travel ban, which prevented citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.