Weeks after other states decided to shut down their schools for the rest of the academic year, New York announced Friday that campuses will not reopen for the 2019-20 school year.
The New York Times reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's declaration confirms what educators, union leaders and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have said was inevitable.
“We don’t think it’s possible” to reopen schools “in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe,” Cuomo says.
De Blasio announced April 11 that New York City’s 1,800 public schools would not reopen until September, but Cuomo quickly responded that the governor alone had the authority to rule on school reopening dates; he characterized the mayor’s ruling was merely de Blasio's “opinion.”
Even before Cuomo's announcement, the chances that school buildings would reopen this academic year were slim. Though schools have continued their instruction online, many students are falling behind academically.
The city has not yet released a plan for online summer school. The mayor has said he expects schools to reopen in September, but schools chancellor Richard A. Carranza has said the city is planning for “any eventuality” this fall.
