New York City again postpones start of in-person classes for most students

New York City has again postponed the start of in-person learning for most public school students.

CBS New York reports that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that K-5 and K-8 schools will stay remote until Sept. 29. Middle and high schools won’t reopen until Oct. 1.

Some preschool and special education classes will begin in-person classes Sept. 21, but most students will continue to have remote instruction.

New York City is the nation's largest public school system, with more than 1 million students.

De Blasio said the decision to delay came after lengthy conversations with the principal and teacher unions.

“Yesterday morning, they reached out to me and they said they had real concerns about specific things that had to be done to make sure our schools could start effectively, start safely,” de Blasio says. “Although they acknowledged that some real progress has been made, not enough had been made and more had to be done to make sure that things would be as strong as they needed to be.”

The mayor says the main concern that still needs to be addressed is staffing.

“I heard an honest concern, and it was just was clear to me we didn’t have an honest enough number,” he says.

United Federation of Teachers Michael Mulgrew says the city is now on top of ventilation issues at school buildings and there’s been a major improvement in the rollout of coronavirus testing.

The city’s blended learning model was supposed to start on Sept. 10, but in-person classes had been postponed to Sept. 21 before Thursday's announcement.