U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday refused to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Tippecanoe School Corporation's optional mask policy for students remained in place after the school board heard hours of public comment from a packed room of parents at a board meeting Wednesday.

This is the first time since late-January -- the beginning of Indiana's vaccine rollout -- the state has reported this many cases in a single day.

Across Indiana and the country, each school district is faced with important decisions on COVID-19 safety protocols. But misinformation, politics and emotions are sometimes getting in the way, leaving parents and school officials with confusing, mixed messages.

The state's analysis of instructional mode and assessment data suggests students going to school remotely didn't make academic progress at the same rate as their in-person peers.

Nearly 1,300 Hoosiers were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the most recent data released by the state health department. Of those, 305 were in intensive care, the most since Feb. 5.

According to the Indiana Department of Health's COVID-19 dashboard, Hoosier schools have reported more than 300 new cases in the last week alone.

Lafayette School Corporation officials say students cooperated with a mask mandate Tuesday on the first day of school.

Federal COVID-19 relief money allowed Indianapolis to house people without shelter in a hotel, aiding in housing-first efforts.

Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns announced in a message to faculty that masks would be required in all university buildings beginning Monday. And Valparaiso University is requiring all students, faculty and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before the start of the fall semester.