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The Department of Health is providing some clarity on the report it published earlier this week on COVID cases in schools and universities.

We’ve been pushing for answers from DOH this week and found the report uses different data than school districts when listing cases.

When we first looked at the state’s COVID in schools report we noticed the numbers didn’t align with local districts’ data.

Some schools were missing entirely.

The Florida Education Association is pushing for more transparency.

“It’s not a comprehensive report. It is not being laid out in a user friendly way,” said FEA President Andrew Spar.

We looked at two districts to see how their reporting compared to the state’s.

The Duval school district reported 75 cases between September 6th and 26th, while the state reported 91.

In Leon, the district reported 64 cases.

The state only reported 40.

“And it’s really on the Governor’s shoulders to make sure that he’s telling the truth, that he is choosing to provide information that is clear, understandable and direct,” said Spar.

We were told by a Department of Health Official that the Department independently collects its data through labs and its own investigations, not from the districts.

It also only reports schools that have identified a positive case.

On the university front, the state’s numbers align fairly well with what the universities have tracked.

Marshall Ogletree with the United Faculty of Florida said regardless of which data set you use, he and other university staff are worried by the figures they’re seeing.

“Most universities have seen a spike and surge,” said Ogletree.

It’s important to note the state’s numbers don’t cover the entire school year and will only be updated once a week.

For the most accurate picture on a day to day basis, education advocates we spoke with recommend checking you’re district’s dashboard.

While we were able to get some clarity on the report through conversations with Department of Health Officials, we have not yet received an official statement from the department since we first sent a list of questions Wednesday morning.