NYC Schools Will Go All In-Person, No Remote Next Year: De Blasio

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's public school students will all return to classrooms in the 2021-2022 year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"It's good news: New York City public schools, one million kids will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote," he said on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

The announcement Monday represents a significant upcoming return to normal for the city's schools, which have been at least partially remote since the coronavirus pandemic first struck in March 2020.

Many parents and teachers had wondered if the city would maintain a remote learning option for the coming school year.

But de Blasio for weeks dodged questions about whether the city would offer such an option.

He said the city's declining COVID-19 rates and persistently low infections inside schools — 0.16 percent positivity, officials said — showed it was time to completely reopen classrooms.

"It’s time for everyone to come back, it’s for us all to be together,” he said during his daily briefing.

Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter, speaking from New Bridges Elementary School in Crown Heights, outlined how the Sept. 13 reopening will look.

There won't be any coronavirus accommodations — all teachers and students will be back, she said.

Parents who are concerned or have questions can attend a series of school open houses that begin in June, she said.

She said masks will be required when students come back in September and schools will follow CDC social distancing guidelines.

"We would not be doing this if our schools were not fully safe,” she said.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers union in the city, largely backed the decision. He said there is no substitute for in-person instruction and that educators want their students in front of them.

But he also left the door open for some remote learning.

"We still have concerns about the safety of a small number of students with extreme medical challenges," he said in a statement. "For that small group of students, a remote option may still be necessary."

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— UFT (@UFT) May 24, 2021

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