- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio finally announced a plan to reopen the city’s 1,800 public schools on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
- The city’s 1.1 million students have been learning remotely since schools closed on March 16 – and under de Blasio’s proposal, they will continue to do so, for the most part.
- The plan would have students attend class from 1 to 3 days a week. Classrooms that typically had 30 people would shrink to roughly 12, including teachers.
- Schools that can accommodate at least half the student body with 6-foot social distancing guidelines would be able to have in-person classes 2 to 3 days a week, while lower-capacity schools would only have in-person classes 1 to 2 days a week. Under de Blasio’s plan, individual school leadership would determine the best schedules for students by August.
- New York City, although the nation’s largest district, is not the only one to consider a hybrid in-person and remote learning model for the upcoming school year, as lower-density classrooms and staggered schedules are potentially the best chance at hampering the spread of the coronavirus.
- Mayor de Blasio’s city-focused proposal is still subject to change – Gov. Andrew Cuomo has final say on the state’s school reopening plans – and the city does not know how many parents would plan to keep their children home from school.
- The proposal comes as President Donald Trump threatened to cut off school funding, something he cannot do. Cuomo, who hasn’t signed off on de Blasio’s plan yet, also rejected Trump’s directive: “School reopenings are a state decision. Period.”
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