“I understand that parents want answers. Here are some answers. Schools will open in September,” de Blasio said, responding to a journalist’s question about a specific timeline.
The mayor said that schools will have a maximum number of students who can attend based on any available space that they can convert into learning areas that support social distancing. In cases where all students cannot attend a certain class, schools have staggered schedules, said the mayor.
De Blasio said some schools may have all of their students back in class when space is taken into account, while others cannot.
All of them should allow hand washing, masks and deep cleaning, he said.
Schools are still in the process of making plans and have not been asked to submit them to the state, but they will be ready when the time comes, Foreign Minister Richard Carranza said.
Ultimately, however, the state will make the decision on whether schools will open in the fall.
It is state law that governs the opening and closing of schools during the pandemic, not local government, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s director of communications Dani Lever said in a statement.
“The Governor has also told all school districts to have plans ready for the ‘new normal’ in case schools can open,” Lever said. “The governor hopes that the schools will reopen, but they will not jeopardize the health of students or teachers, and they will make the decision once we have more updated information.”
It is not uncommon for Cuomo and De Blasio to disagree.
In April, de Blasio announced that the city’s public school buildings would remain closed until the end of the school year due to coronavirus concerns, but the governor later said a decision had not been made about the schools. Finally, schools closed and students transitioned to virtual learning.
Wherever they come to this topic, there is apparent widespread support among parents for children to return to the classroom.
At least 75% of parents said they wanted to send their children to school in September, de Blasio said during Thursday’s press conference.
The survey was released to more than 400,000 public school parents by the Department of Education, de Blasio said.
CNN’s Erica Order contributed to this story.
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