Empire State Today

Although there is no absolute process on how to reopen schools safely, New York is an example of how it can be done, according to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

“There’s no perfect solution, but frankly I think New York City has done a pretty good job in terms of showing the way,” Weingarten told Chuck Todd of NBC News’ Meet The Press. “Big school district, lots of issues in terms of old buildings, and we learned a lot from what New York City did in September and October.” 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has earlier said that President Biden intends to safely reopen a majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days in office.

“There’s a roadmap now, and so, you actually can follow that roadmap in terms of defining those risks,” Weingarten said, The Epoch Times reported. “And I think between the CDC guidance as well as the resources President Biden is trying to get in the $1.9 trillion package, we have the highway or the roadmap that allows us” resume in-person learning.

Weingarten further said that in a survey the union conducted of its members, 85 percent said that “they will be comfortable being in school if they have the kind of testing, layered mitigation, and vaccine prioritization, and that’s what New York City is doing.”