Can schools punish students who break COVID-19 rules on spring break? Maybe

Spring breakers are back, but this time schools are more prepared for COVID-19 rule breakers. After a year of pandemic schooling, districts and colleges warn students to avoid travel. Some canceled spring break altogether.

Even further, some schools put protocols in place to prevent traveling students from coming back to in-person school. They will be required to quarantine or finish the semester virtually. Schools have punished students who break COVID-19 restrictions on school grounds. Punishment for travel is trickier. 

Beaches are filling up with spring breakers. Last weekend, Miami Beach declared a state of emergency because of out-of-control crowds. More than 1,000 arrests were made over the spring break season. 

Colleges and universities cancel or adjust spring break

About 60% of colleges and universities canceled or adjusted their spring breaks, Christopher Marsicano, a professor of higher education practice at Davidson College in North Carolina, told USA TODAY.

“Effectively what colleges have done is create ways to limit mobility in general,” said Marsicano, who serves as director of the College Crisis Initiative. More than a fourth of the nearly 2,000 higher education institutions Marsicano’s team surveyed canceled the break. About one-third chose to go with an alternate break, including mental health or wellness days, instead of the standard one week.

Staycation incentives: University of California Davis offering students $75 to stay in town during spring break

Spring break destinations: Popular beach towns have few COVID-19 restrictions

Harvard University replaced spring break with five spaced-out wellness days. Texas A&M University and the University of Mississippi went without a usual break, the latter choosing to end the semester a week early. The University of California, Davis offered students $75 gift cards to avoid spring break travel. 

Undergraduates at Lipscomb University, a private college in Nashville, will not return to campus after their spring break, which runs April 12-16. The remainder of their coursework, as well as their semester finals, will transition to remote learning, according to the university’s website.

“Residential students will be contacted by Student Life regarding restrictions for returning to campus following spring break,” the website reads.

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