Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Cuomo Clears New York Schools Statewide to Open, Carefully
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 7, 2020

Share

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s governor said Friday that he would allow children statewide to return to classrooms for the start of the new school year, citing the state’s success in battling the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everywhere in the state, every region is below the threshold that we established. If there’s a spike in the infection rate, if there’s a matter of concern in the infection rate, then we can revisit.” — Gov. Andrew Cuomo

The announcement by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo clears the way for schools to offer at least some days of in-person classes, alongside remote learning. Students will be required to wear masks throughout school day.

“Everywhere in the state, every region is below the threshold that we established,” Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. “If there’s a spike in the infection rate, if there’s a matter of concern in the infection rate, then we can revisit.”

Many New York school districts have planned to start the year with students in school buildings only a few days a week, while learning at home the rest of the time.

More than 1 million public school students in New York City — the largest district in the U.S. — had their last day of in-class instruction on March 13, just as waves of sick people were beginning to hit city hospitals. All schools statewide were closed by March 18.

The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has been saying since the spring that his goal for fall was to bring students back on schedule, with as much classroom time as possible while still allowing for social distancing.

That plan has looked exceedingly ambitious as other large school systems have backed away from in-person instruction in recent weeks.

Cuomo Warned That New York’s Roughly 750 Districts Still Need to Address the Fears

Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Houston, among other places, all announced they would start the school year with students learning remotely.

De Blasio, while cautioning that he could change course at any time, had expressed hope that the relatively low rate of transmission of the virus in the city would allow students and staff to return safely.

He had also said a return to classroom instruction is vital to jump-starting the city’s economy, now hobbled by parents being forced to stay home with their children.

“It will not be easy but I think most parents feel strongly that even some time in school is a lot better for their kids than none,“ de Blasio said Friday at a separate briefing earlier in the day.

School reopening plans, though, face enormous hurdles.

Cuomo warned that New York’s roughly 750 districts still need to address the fears of parents and teachers that schools will be unsafe. He said he will ask school districts to post their remote learning plan and require “discussion sessions” with parents.

“They have to communicate with the parents and explain the plan and answer the questions of the parents,” Cuomo said.

The outbreak, while reduced, is not over in New York. Around 10,000 New York City residents tested positive for the virus in July.

Earlier This Summer, Cuomo Set a General Metric to Help Measure When It Was Safe

On Wednesday, two unions, New York State United Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers, demanded clearer health protocols dictating that schools should shut down immediately for two weeks if any student or member of the staff contracts the virus.

Teachers are prohibited from striking in New York, but it has been unclear whether large numbers would either opt out of classroom instruction for medical reasons or simply refuse to work.

Earlier this summer, Cuomo set a general metric to help measure when it was safe to bring students back, saying the state would allow a return in regions where fewer than 5% of people tested for COVID-19 came back positive.

Parents, too, have struggled to decide whether to send their children to school or opt solely for online instruction at home.

Schools have spent the summer coming up with safety plans, securing protective gear and figuring out how to fit fewer students into classrooms and school buses. Cuomo required all school systems to submit plans detailing their reopening plans, saying that the state would not allow any district with an unsafe plan to bring students back to classrooms.

The governor said the Department of Health will continue to go through plans over weekend, and will notify school districts where incomplete or deficient. He said about 50 school district health plans are incomplete or deficient. A district can’t open if its health plan is rejected.

State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker warned this week that “an ill-prepared reopening could put students, staff and parents in peril.”

Earlier this summer, Cuomo set a general metric to help measure when it was safe to bring students back, saying the state would allow a return in regions where fewer than 5% of people tested for COVID-19 came back positive.

The entire state has been well under that threshold all summer, but Cuomo had also recently stressed that, even if he allowed schools to reopen, it wouldn’t work if parents and teachers aren’t sure they are safe.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding

PG&E Sees Surge in AI Data Center Interest With Fresno Area Emerging as New Hotspot

2 hours ago

SF-Based Salesforce Is Buying Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

3 hours ago

Trump to Pardon Reality TV’s Todd and Julie Chrisley After Tax Evasion Conviction

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of the reality TV show “Ch...

26 minutes ago

Todd Chrisley (2nd L) speaks next to his wife Julie (L) and their kids Chase and Savannah at a panel for the USA television series "Chrisley Knows Best" during the Television Critics Association Cable Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, California July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
26 minutes ago

Trump to Pardon Reality TV’s Todd and Julie Chrisley After Tax Evasion Conviction

2 hours ago

Westlands Leader Calls Slight Water Boost ‘Disappointing’

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 22, 2024. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo
2 hours ago

Republican Tuberville Announces Bid for Alabama Governor

Residents walk by power grid towers at Bair Island State Marine Park in Redwood City, California, United States, January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
2 hours ago

PG&E Sees Surge in AI Data Center Interest With Fresno Area Emerging as New Hotspot

Salesforce Tower in New York
3 hours ago

SF-Based Salesforce Is Buying Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

3 hours ago

Fresno Unified Safety Officer Alleges Battery by District Exec. What Does PD Say?

Authorities arrested 45 people and seized guns and drugs during a multi-agency parole and probation sweep across Tulare County over the past two weekends. (Tulare County SO)
4 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Arrest 45 in Parole, Probation Sweep

Students walk on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo
4 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Scheduling of New Student Visa Appointments

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend