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School districts across the state have submitted their preliminary proposals for reopening models amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cuomo said that the state will review them and make a final decision by Friday, Aug. 7 to allow time to prepare and train for the "new normal."
Cuomo previously announced that school districts in New York can follow plans to reopen for in-person schooling in September if COVID-19 infection rates stay at 5 percent or lower in a given region.
Infection rates statewide have remained at approximately 1 percent for several weeks, though there have been occasional fluctuations in the numbers due to small spikes in some regions.
“We want to make sure that decision will be made with the best available data,” Cuomo said. “The facts change week-to-week, which is why we set the drop-dead date (to make a decision.)
“We will open the schools if it is safe to open the schools,” he added. “That’s the law and that’s how we’re going to proceed. I am not going to ask anyone to put their child in a situation that I would not put my child in. That’s how I make all these decisions.”
Cuomo said that ultimately, the final decision on whether or not students are in the classroom in the fall will fall to the parents, who have the ultimate say in whether or not their children return to school.
“Time is short, so they should be starting now, because parents will make the ultimate decision,” Cuomo said earlier this week. “No one is going to tell me if I’m going to send my child to school. I’m going to make sure it’s an informed decision, and I’m not going to trust it just because some school district comes up with a plan.
“This is between the school districts and parents. The ultimate decision-makers are the parents,” he continued. “They’re not going to send their children to a school, even if it’s open, if they don’t believe it’s a safe environment. All they care about is the school their kid is going to.”
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