Back-to-school preparations are in full swing across the country. To help facilitate spending, Virginia held its annual tax-free holiday for back-to-school supplies this last weekend. During the tax holiday, shoppers were able to purchase qualifying items without paying sales tax. Qualifying items included school supplies, clothes, shoes and emergency preparedness items.
According to the Wall Street Journal, The National Retail Federation predicts that consumers with children in kindergarten through 12th grade will spend a record breaking $37.1 billion this year on back-to-school shopping, the most since the group began conducting its survey in 2003. On average, that's about $848.90 on school-related items per family. This prediction is despite growing uncertainty around Covid-19 cases and product shortages. Large spending is expected for a number of reasons, but principally, it's assumed the high demand is because this is the first time since pandemic lockdowns began that most children will have the option to attend classes fully in person this fall.
Everyone's obvious excitement to get things back to normal doesn't come with its share of fears. For instance, in VA children aged 12 years and over are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, while children 12 years and under are still not eligible. When asked if a mask mandate would be implemented to safeguard children, Virginia Governor Northam announced he was not ordering a mandate for schools. Instead, Northam cited a new state law, Senate Bill 1303, that says schools must follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many view this as a political punt, as CDC guidelines evolve rapidly which make it difficult for school districts to keep up. As of the writing of this article, CDC guidance recommends students and school staff wear masks when indoors, including those who have already been vaccinated. These guidelines came just weeks after CDC officials had said that vaccinated students and staff did not need to wear masks indoors.