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Before reopening, all 749 school districts in New York had to submit their reopening plan that includes guidance on how they plan to handle potential remote learning, testing, and contact tracing for teachers and students.
During a conference call on Monday, Aug. 10, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said more than 100 school districts have yet to submit reopening plans, setting a deadline of Friday, Aug. 14 for districts to come into compliance.
If districts don’t meet the deadline, Cuomo said they will not be permitted to reopen.
However, there has been some confusion from certain school districts, who are alleging that they submitted their plans, sending some scrambling to make sure the state receives their plans.
Some districts thought their plans were sent to the state Department of Health when they were instead sent to Empire State Development. Others submitted their plan directly to the Education Department without a required form.
“We understand that the Governor's Office released a list today of school districts that had not submitted their reopening plans to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH),” the Bedford Central School District wrote in a message to parents.
“We submitted our plans to the New York State Department of Education several weeks ago and have since submitted our plans to the NYSDOH. Please be assured that all our plans have been submitted to the appropriate state agencies.”
The district's reopened plan has been posted on its website.
Another district on the list, Nyack Public Schools, said it also had submitted its plan and referred members of the community to the website where the plan appears, dated July 31.
Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to Cuomo, doubled down late on Monday afternoon, saying that the earlier list was correct, and that the Department of Health has not received a reopening plan from the 107 districts.
"The list of districts that didn't file a plan with the state Department of Health is accurate,” he said. “Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the DOH portal, some districts in follow-up calls said they filed with the State Education Department - which is not an executive agency - but didn't file with DOH.
“Others filled out an affirmation certifying that they would be abiding by the state's reopening guidance, but didn't actually submit their plan, something many of these districts are now rectifying.”
The original list of schools cited by Cuomo for failing to submit a plan:
- Altmar-Parish
- Amsterdam
- Andes
- Argyle
- Arkport
- Beacon
- Bedford
- Berkshire
- Bradford
- Brentwood
- Broadalbin-Perth
- Brookhaven-Comsewogue UFSD
- Brunswick Central
- C-V At Ilion-Mohawk Csd
- Camden
- Canajoharie
- Canton
- Carle Place
- Carthage
- Catskill
- Cooperstown
- Corning
- Cortland
- Deer Park
- East Bloomfield
- East Greenbush
- Edinburg Common Sd
- Eldred
- Elmira
- Elmont
- Fayetteville-Manlius
- Fort Ann
- Fort Plain
- Franklinville
- Garden City
- Garrison
- Geneva
- George Jr Republic
- Germantown
- Hammond
- Hammondsport
- Hendrick Hudson
- Heuvelton
- Jeff Youngsville
- Johnsburg
- Kendall
- Kinderhook
- Lake Pleasant
- Lawrence
- Lewiston Porter
- Lisbon
- Locust Valley
- Longwood
- Lyme
- Malverne
- Manhasset
- Margaretville
- Massena
- Mayfield
- Middle Country
- Middletown
- Mineola
- Mount Sinai
- New Hyde Park
- Newark Valley
- North Babylon
- Nyack
- Odessa Montour
- Oriskany
- Oswego
- Oysterponds
- Palmyra-Macedon
- Peru
- Pine Valley
- Plainedge
- Plainview
- Portville
- Potsdam
- Poughkeepsie
- Red Creek
- Remsenburg
- Richfield Springs CSD
- Rocky Point
- Sachem
- Sagaponack
- Salamanca
- Seneca Falls
- Shenendehowa
- Sloan
- Spencer-Van Etten
- Syosset
- Troy
- Tuckahoe Common
- Uniondale
- Utica
- Valley-Montgomery
- Van Hornsville
- Victor
- Wainscott
- Waterville
- Webster
- West Valley
- Western Suffolk BOCES
- Williamsville
- Windham Ashland
- Worcester
- Wyoming
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