Schools decision a month away
Districts have July 31 deadline to submit plans for reopening
A decision about reopening schools in New York state will be announced the first week in August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
At a press briefing in New York City, Cuomo said the state will issue guidance to school districts by July 13 and that districts will have until July 31 to submit reopening plans. A decision will be
announced between Aug. 1 and 7, he said.
Districts “can submit a plan, the plan will be reviewed, and then we will accept or deny the specific plan or ask for alterations on the specific plan, and then make a global decision as to whether or not any school district will reopen, and that will be the first week of August,” Cuomo said.
Schools across the state closed in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and instruction for the rest of the 2019-20 academic year was given online.
Earlier Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said most public school students in the city will be taught in their school buildings two or three days a week when the new academic year starts in September and learn online the rest of the time.
De Blasio said the city’s schools can’t accommodate all their students at any one time and still maintain safe social distancing.
“When you think about social distancing, you need more space,” de Blasio said. “You’re going to have fewer kids in a classroom, fewer kids in the school building.”
De Blasio said parents will have the option of online-only instruction for their children, but he said 75% of parents who answered a survey want their children in school in September.
Cuomo has said that the decision to reopen schools is his alone, and he and de Blasio have clashed over that authority repeatedly. De Blasio said Wednesday that the city will work closely “every step of the way with the state of New York.”
De Blasio said onlineonly instruction “has been really fantastic for certain students” but that many others lacked internet access or devices to connect to their online classes.
Similar concerns have been voiced elsewhere in the state.
Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if America’s schools don’t reopen in the fall, and he lashed out at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over reopening guidelines that he complained are impractical and expensive.
He did not say what funding he would pull, but Vice President Mike Pence later suggested future COVID-19 relief bills could be tied to reopening schools.
Pence also announced the CDC will issue new guidance next week “that will give all new tools to our schools” and keep students safe.
The CDC’s current guidance recommends students and teachers wear masks whenever feasible, spread out desks, stagger schedules, eat meals in classrooms instead of cafeterias, and add physical barriers between bathroom sinks.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued guidelines suggesting schools aim to start the academic year with students “physically present in school.” Keeping students at home can lead to social isolation, the organization said, and prevent schools from identifying learning deficits, abuse, depression and other issues.
Pushing back against Trump, New York Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa and interim state Education Commissioner Shannon Taho said in a prepared statement: “Any decision on the reopening of school buildings should be made based on the best science, data and guidance available from state and federal health professionals.
To completely disregard what we have learned so far about this virus and require schools to open under the threat of losing funding during a time when state, local and school budgets are already facing extreme shortfalls is reckless and plays politics with our children’s futures.”
Cuomo also had harsh words for Trump.
“School reopenings are a state decision, period,” he said at his press briefing. “That is the law, and that is the way we are going to proceed. It’s not up to the president of the United States.”
The head of the New York State United Teachers union also criticized Trump, and he praised Cuomo.
“Health and safety of students, families, educators and other school staff, and equitable access to a highquality education, must be the top priorities in reopening schools,” NYSUT President Andy Pollatta said in prepared statement. “The federal government’s demands that schools reopen without concern for health, safety and equity are simply out of touch.
“Thankfully, here in New York, we know the governor, the regents and fellow education stakeholders are taking this seriously,” Pollatta added.
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Cuomo also said Wednesday that all county fairs in the state will be canceled this summer. Earlier this week, he announced the cancellation of the annual state fair in Syracuse.
The county fairs in Ulster, Dutchess and Columbia already had been called off. Cuomo’s announcement means there also will be no Orange County Fair. Organizers of that event had said they were awaiting guidance from the state.