ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Friday morning that all districts across the state are authorized to open in the fall.
Cuomo went on to say that the number of COVID-19 cases in every region is below the threshold set forth by the state.
Governor Cuomo said the state can and will revisit the reopening decision should there be a spike in infection rates in a region.
He says that districts must now have a reopening plan and discuss it with parents and teachers. He said there's no one-size-fits-all plan, and districts must do what parents, teachers, and students are most comfortable with.
"I can't fashion a plan that will work in every district because they are just too different, and the circumstances are just too different," said Cuomo.
He went on to say individual districts have the flexibility to delay the start of school or in-person classes.
There are 749 school districts across the state. Of those, 127 districts have not submitted reopening plans to the state education department and state health department. Fifty school districts have submitted plans that are considered incomplete, according to Cuomo.
State officials will notify districts with incomplete plans by Monday to discuss the changes that need to be made. Those who do not have an approved plan will not be permitted to reopen.
Cuomo said school districts need to have three discussion sessions involving parents by August 21, so they can go over reopening plans and answer questions parents might have. The sessions can be online.
In addition, Cuomo said districts should have at least one discussion session with just teachers to talk about their questions and concerns.
"These school districts have to be talking to the parents and talking to the teachers because if the teachers don't come back, then you can't really open the schools," said Cuomo. "If the parents don't send the students then you're not really opening the schools."
According to NYS Department of Health guidelines, students, teachers, and faculty must wear a mask at all times when social distancing is not possible, but it's recommended that one is worn throughout the school day.
If a student does not have a mask, schools must provide one for the student.
Schools closed back in mid-March, and students and teachers shifted to remote learning to finish the 2019-2020 school year.
Cuomo is asking districts to post their remote learning plans for the upcoming school year.
"Remote learning and the equity in the remote learning process, we've learned from the experiences that we've had during COVID that remote learning can be quite unequal given the demographics and given the circumstances," said Cuomo.
The governor also said he wants school districts to post their COVID-19 testing plans. The plans should address things like how quickly tests will be performed, who will do the tests, and under what circumstances will a student or teacher get tested. He also said districts should outline plans for contact tracing in the event a student or teacher tests positive.
