Cuomo Clears All NY School Districts to Reopen in Fall, But Says It’s Ultimately Not Up to Him

A growing number of major school districts across the country, including Chicago, have opted to start the school year fully remotely amid the significant increase in COVID-19 nationwide

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the green light Friday to reopen New York’s 700 school districts in the fall — a data-driven decision that mirrors the threshold-based calls he made on the phased economic reopenings for the state’s 10 regions. But the schools’ decision is different. The governor says it’s ultimately not up to him.

“Parents have to be included and believe the plan makes sense. Teachers have to be included and believe the plan makes sense. They are the ultimate determination,” Cuomo said this week. “If a teacher doesn’t show up, you can’t open the class. If a parent doesn’t send their child there’s no child to educate.”

The governor had said his decision on reopening schools depends solely on the seven-day rolling average positive test rate for the region where it is located. He has said if that rate stays below 5 percent, he’ll give the district the green light to reopen. If it ticks above 9 percent once he gives the OK, the district — and all the schools within it — will have to close. New York’s statewide seven-day average has consistently been at 1 percent for a month. So too has New York City’s.

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That said, Cuomo says there’s more to the schools equation than the viral transmission rate. All he does is set the floor. Parents and teachers make the call — and many have serious concerns about whether school plans work for them.

Daily Percentage of Positive Tests by New York Region

With all of New York state in some phase of reopening, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is shifting his focus to monitoring test results on a daily basis across each region to identify potential hotspots before they emerge. Here’s the latest tracking data by region. For the latest county-level results statewide

Source: ny.gov

Simply telling parents their district is in a low infection rate region won’t necessarily make them feel comfortable sending their kids to school, Cuomo has said. He says parents need to be included in the specific conversations now. In some spots, parents may prefer remote learning. Many prefer in-person school — and a fuller week than blended learning would permit. But even those parents may hesitate on safety issues — and they wonder what it could mean for their jobs and their kids’ educations if schools have to shut down again, Cuomo says.

His office fields hundreds of calls on the schools issue, the governor says. He knows what parents want to know. What happens if a child tests positive? How will we know? Where are the testing facilities and how will the process work?

It’s going to vary by district, Cuomo says. Beyond that, New York City, home to the nation’s largest public school system with more than 1.1 million students, may have some more intricate variations just because of the size of the district.

“They’re watching what’s happening across the country,” Cuomo said of parents. “They’re watching what these other school districts are doing. They’re watching outbreaks when school is open. They have serious concerns. And they should.”