Empire State Today

New York's Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that schools in his state can reopen for in-person classes in September, while many of his Democratic colleagues across the country are instead opting for remote learning due to safety concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Reopening schools for in-person learning this fall has become a hotly debated issue across the nation, with teachers unions threatening to strike if their conditions for returning to classrooms are not met, NPR reported late last month. Some of the unions' demands are unrelated to COVID-19 safety in the classrooms but include police-free schools, rent and mortgage cancellations, direct cash assistance for the unemployed or those unable to work, a standardized testing pause, and a moratorium on new charter schools and school vouchers, Education Week Teacher reported Aug. 3.

Cuomo’s Aug. 7 announcement to allow in-person classes will depend on each region’s infection rate, he said in a statement. As of that date, the infection rate in each of the regions was below the “threshold necessary by the state’s standards to open schools.”

Cuomo | File photo

The New York Department of Health will review the reopening plans from the 749 school districts across the state. 

“The determination of how individual districts reopen – in-person vs a hybrid model – will be made by local school districts under strict Department of Health guidelines,” said Cuomo's statement. 

The Department of Health's guidance includes appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing.

“Based on our infection rate, New York state is in the best possible situation right now,” Cuomo said. “If anybody can open schools, we can open schools. We do masks, we do social distancing, we've kept that infection rate down, and we can bring the same level of intelligence to the school reopening that we brought to the economic reopening."

Cuomo’s decision to reopen schools for in-person instruction coincides with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. The CDC has endorsed in-person classes and touted the health benefits of children returning to school. 

“Aside from a child’s home, no other setting has more influence on a child’s health and well-being than their school,” the CDC stated on its website. “The in-person school environment provides educational instruction, supports the development of social and emotional skills, creates a safe environment for learning, addresses nutritional needs and facilitates physical activity.”

Parents polled prefer a mix of in-person and online teaching, the Washington Post reported on Aug. 6. 

“Given three options for the fall, a plurality of parents — 44% — want their schools to offer a mix of online and in-person classes, an idea that has been considered by many school districts and adopted by some,” the Post reported. “In a close second place is all-virtual education, favored by 39% of parents.”