ALBANY, N.Y. — Hoping to get more students back in the classroom before the end of the school year, the state's teachers' union is calling on schools to increase COVID-19 testing efforts.
The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and others held a news conference Thursday calling for districts to look for effective testing strategies to use as models in their own communities. They are also calling for more state and federal funds for testing.
“Educators want to be in the classroom with their students, but they want to do that safely. Identifying asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 in particular is critical to bolstering school safety plans,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. “Yet far too few districts have a testing regimen up and running. That is unacceptable. If the nation’s largest school district, the nation’s largest university system and the nation’s biggest professional sport can do it, there’s no reason we can’t figure out how to implement testing for schools statewide.”
A poll last month of NYSUT members outside of New York City found 74% of educators are not doing any regular testing in their districts, 18% said some testing is happening regularly and only two percent said most students and staff are being tested.