In-person classes will resume Sept. 21, after NYC reaches deal with labor unions

From left, DC37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Mark Cannizzaro announced the new plan Tuesday. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

By David Brand

New York City teachers, staff and students will head back to school on Sept. 21, after Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city reached a reopening agreement with labor leaders Tuesday.

The new plan pushes the school start date 11 days from an initial Sept. 10 proposal. Teachers will report to buildings on Sept. 8 and train for remote and in-person learning over the following days. Teachers and students will connect for orientations beginning Sept. 16.

“Our agreement puts the health and safety of our 1.1 million students, teachers, and school staff above everything else,” de Blasio said. 

With the new school year approaching, unions representing teachers, administrators and other personnel had sounded the alarm about the lack of preparation and concrete plans for reopening school buildings during the COVID crisis. The United Federation of Teachers had begun to set the legal foundation for a strike.

On Tuesday, however, UFT President Michael Mulgrew praised the new reopening plan. 

"New York City will now have the most aggressive policies and the strongest safeguards of any school system in the nation,” Mulgrew said.

As part of the plan, students, teachers and public school staff will have priority access to COVID-19 testing at 34 sites throughout the city. Results will be made available within 48 hours, according to the Department of Education.

Schools will also randomly administer tests to 10 to 20 percent of in-person students and on-site staff beginning Oct. 1. All public school families have the option of either full remote learning or a hybrid approach, in which students attend in-person classes two to three days a week and do classwork online the rest of time. Students who choose the blended option can opt out any time.

The DOE will scrap the reopening plan if the citywide COVID-19 rate surpasses 3 percent, based on daily test results. The rate is currently 1.3 percent.

The new plan received tepid approval from lawmakers and advocates Tuesday.

“This decision is very late but nonetheless welcome because City Hall is finally working together with teachers, principals, and other school staff without whom the schools cannot possibly educate our kids,” said Queens State Sen. John Liu, chair of the Senate’s New York City education committee.

Despite the coordination among various stakeholders, student and family advocates say many questions remain unanswered.

The city must resolve obstacles for children with disabilities, provide access to technology and WiFi for low-income students and better communicate with non-English speaking families,” said Advocates for Children of New York Executive Director Kim Sweet.

“The city needs to use this additional time to develop robust plans for supporting students in the year ahead, particularly the students with the greatest needs,” Sweet said. “Given that all students will continue to learn remotely at least some of the time for the foreseeable future, the DOE must develop and implement strategies to improve online instruction.”