NYC submits school reopening plan, with quarantines for COVID-exposed staff and students
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Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza described school reopening protocols during a press conference July 31. Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
By David Brand
New York City remains on pace to open school buildings in September, with part-time classes and several new protocols for isolating people exposed to COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio and city officials said Friday.
De Blasio said schools will adopt a “blended approach” where children attend school two to three days a week and complete their classwork remotely the rest of the time. Smaller cohorts of students will alternate days in the classroom.
“This is all about — why do we even have a school system to begin with, to help our kids support our kids, prepare our kids, especially after again, everything they've been through the last five months,” he said.
Schools where a single teacher or student tests positive for COVID-19 can reopen, but everyone else who shares the classroom must quarantine for 14 days, he and city officials said. If multiple people test positive for COVID-19, the school will close for 24 hours.
The city’s Test and Trace Corps will then conduct an investigation to determine whether to keep the school closed and order all students and staff to undergo COVID-19 testing, said Test and Trace Corps Executive Director Ted Long.
“During the investigation, if it's relegated to one case, the school will remain open, and when the investigation concludes the [rest of the] classroom and any close contact [will] quarantine for two weeks,” Long said.
The city will also provide free testing for school-based staff with results available within 24 hours and encourage staff to get tested each month, Carranza said. The Department of Education will enforce social distancing and deep clean buildings, though the cleaning protocols remain unfunded City Council Education Committee Chair Mark Treyger said Friday.
The city leaders cited a survey of 400,000 parents that found that 75 percent of families want children to return to school in September. School buildings have been closed since March 16 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“A huge amount of effort has gone in to getting our schools ready, months and months of preparation. We are sparing no expense,” de Blasio said. “We understand the fear because this city has been through so much, because we look around the country and we see really, really troubling things happening. But we also have to remember how this city has fought back.”
De Blasio said the city would not reopen schools if the rate of positive COVID tests surpassed three percent, which it has not since June 10.
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said the city’s plans “are not enough.”
“We need randomized testing of school communities throughout the year and a vigorous contact tracing system that gives schools test results and a course of action with a 24-hour turnaround,” said Mulgrew, whose union represents about 75,000 teachers and 19,000 classroom paraprofessionals.
“What’s more, even if there are stronger safety standards in place, we still have grave concerns about the city’s ability to enforce them effectively in every school,” he added. “Right now, this is not enough to protect students and staff.”
