Dear Friends:
Although our in-person meetings are restricted, I have been busy joining local community meetings virtually. Over the past week, I met with parents of adult children in group homes who stand to be impacted by the proposed OPWDD cuts that colleagues and I are working to curtail; met with nonprofit providers serving Hispanic communities to discuss housing & food insecurity needs throughout the 37th Senate District; participated in a Youth Town Hall focused on racial justice organized by Westchester County Legislator Kitley Covill; attended both the Armonk Chamber of Commerce and Eastchester-Tuckahoe Chamber of Commerce meetings on reopening issues; provided a presentation to the Mamaroneck Town Board about the policing reforms legislative package adopted in June; and hosted a Zoom meeting with school Superintendents in the district about reopening issues.
As we plan for the fall, I know that many of you are contemplating what plans to reopen school buildings will look like if buildings are to reopen. Like many of you, my first priority is the safety of students, teachers, administrators and staff. There are many thoughtful and creative solutions districts are proposing within their school building reopening plans that foster learning while keeping everyone safe. Each school district must submit for approval its final reopening plan by Friday, July 31st. Between August 1st and August 7th, Governor Andrew Cuomo will determine whether regional metrics will allow school buildings within a region to be reopened.
On Monday, July 13th, Governor Cuomo announced a data-driven formula to determine whether school buildings would be permitted to reopen in the fall. For school buildings to reopen, the region must be in Phase Four with a daily infection rate below 5% using a 14-day rolling average. School buildings are subject to close again if the regional infection rate is greater than 9% using a 7-day rolling average beginning on August 1st. As of Thursday, July 16th, the infection rate for Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region is 1.1% with a 1.1% 7-day rolling average.
Determining how to reopen school buildings in the midst of a global viral pandemic is an unprecedented and challenging task. The State Education Department (SED) has released guidance that incorporates NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) guidance to assist school districts in formulating their reopening plans that create protocols for screening, transportation, classroom space, food service, tracing and more. SED guidance also incorporates curriculum and instruction requirements for both remote and in-person learning. No doubt these plans will require adjustments as districts reopen and protocols calibrate to real-world conditions. If you have a particular worry ahead of school reopening, I urge you to contact your local school district and make your voice heard. There are many interests the state and school districts are working to balance, including the safety of instructors, staff, students, the families to whom they return home, and ensuring students are engaged & learning. As districts reopen, the state will closely monitor infection rates and offer updated guidance as needed.
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