Cuomo says all schools authorized to reopen
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says all public school districts in the state are authorized to reopen in the fall because all 10 regions of the state are well below the state’s Covid-infection limit.
The governor said schools wouldn’t reopen if the infection rate reached a 5 percent positive rate in tests for Covid-19. The state has been averaging about a 1 percent positive test rate. That is fairly consistent among all 10 regions. Orleans County is in the Finger Lakes Region. The test results show a positive rate of 1.1 percent on Monday, 0.5 percent on Tuesday and 0.7 percent on Wednesday.
If the rate jumps to 9 percent during the school year, Cuomo said schools would likely be closed.
“If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly,” Cuomo said in a Tweet. “School districts are required to submit plans to NYS for review.”
As schools reopen, Cuomo said the state is requiring all school districts to:
1) Post their remote learning plans and their testing/tracing plans online
2) Set dates for 3-5 discussion sessions with parents and community (prior to Aug. 21)
3) Have at least one separate discussion with teachers alone
