New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says all school districts in the state can reopen for in-person classes in the fall.
The state’s 700 school districts have the “flexibility” to offer both in-person classes, alongside remote learning, and students will be required to wear masks throughout the school day, ABC 7 reports.
Citing success in battling the potentially deadly virus in what was once the heart of the pandemic in the U.S, Cuomo said districts still need to address the safety fears of parents and teachers, per The Associated Press.
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“Everywhere in the state, every region is below the threshold that we established,” Cuomo told reporters Friday.
“If any state can do this, we can do this,” he said. School districts are allowed to “do in-person school, but it is up to them.”
“We’re giving flexibility to the school districts,” he added. “Like the economic reopening, there is no one size fits all,” he said.
As of August 7, the infection rate in the state was reportedly at 1%, with 5 deaths, according to the report.
“We are probably in the best situation in the country right now,” the governor said.
“We will reopen safely,” Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Friday. “If COVID-19 positivity rate goes above 3%, we will not open.”
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The mayor and NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza have developed a “Blended Learning” plan for the city’s 1.1 million schoolchildren.
De Blasio says the plan aims to preserve “health and safety while maintaining an understanding that the best way to educate our kids is in the classroom.”
Cuomo tweeted Friday that School districts have until the end of next week to submit reopening plans to NYS for review.
Parents also reportedly had mere hours on Friday to notify the education department if they want their child enrolled in virtual learning this fall.
“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,“ Mayor de Blasio said at a separate briefing on Friday.
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