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School in New York is out for spring.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it official today that the rest of the state will follow New York City’s lead and shut down in-person classes in 700 school districts for the rest of the 2019-20 school year. New York colleges and universities will be closed for in-person classes as well.
A decision on summer school will come later this month, he said.
“Given the circumstances that we’re in, and the precautions that would have to be put in place to come up with a plan to reopen schools with all those new protocols,” Cuomo said, “how do you operate a school that’s socially distanced, with masks (and) without gatherings?
“We don’t think it’s possible to do that in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe,” he added.
Cuomo noted that the state wants schools to begin to develop a plan to reopen.
“The plan would have to have protocols in place that incorporate everything that we are now doing in society,” he said.
Schools in Suffolk County have remained closed since County Executive Steve Bellone ordered them shut as of Monday, March 16. Cuomo followed suit that week and ordered all New York schools to be closed.
Students have since transitioned to a remote learning model.
New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio last month ordered city school buildings to remain closed until the fall.
President Donald Trump urged governors, including Cuomo, during a Tuesday conference call to reopen schools before summer break.
Cuomo has said New York has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the nation and is coping with a much different situation than other states across the country.
