Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that 107 school districts in the state still have not submitted their mandatory plans for reopening this fall, which is due to the state by the end of this week. Several of the districts on the list are located in central New York, including Oswego, Utica, Cortland, Fayetteville-Manlius.
In a conference call with reporters, Cuomo called out the superintendents for not getting their plans for in-person learning to the New York State Department of Health (NYDOH) and the New York State Education Department (NYSED).
"How you didn't submit a plan is beyond me, but they didn't submit a plan to DOH or SED," Cuomo said. "If they think they're going to open, then they have to have their plan in by Friday, period."
Many of the districts on the list do have reopening plans published on their websites as required by the state, however, some like the Red Creek Central School District in Wayne County failed to submit their plans to both NYSED and NYDOH. A spokesperson for the governor's office said many school districts made this mistake.
"Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the DOH portal, some districts in follow-up calls said they filed with the State Education Department - which is not an executive agency - but didn't file with DOH," said Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, in a statement. "Others filled out an affirmation certifying that they would be abiding by the state's reopening guidance, but didn't actually submit their plan, something many of these districts are now rectifying,"
Among other requirements, the school district plans must include procedures and protocols for instruction, health screenings, and social distancing measures.
