During his press briefing today, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that a decision as to whether or not schools across the state can reopen this fall will be announced in August.
“I know parents want a decision now, they talk to me too,” Cuomo said. “But we want to make that decision with the best available data. The facts change here day to day, week to week. As we see, a week could be a lifetime with this virus.”
Cuomo said the state will release finalized reopening guidance for school districts on July 13 and districts will have until July 31 to submit to the state their re-entry safety plans. On Aug. 1-7, officials will review and subsequently approve, deny or suggest changes to each district’s plan, and a decision to reopen schools to students in the fall will also be made by the state at this time, he said.
A state committee has been in talks for weeks about regional variations for school safety plans and to provide reopening guidance to school districts. Fayetteville-Manlius School District is one of about 700 school districts in New York state.
Meanwhile, F-M is asking parents and guardians to complete a short online survey regarding the reopening of schools for the 2020-21 school year. A link to the survey was emailed to all F-M families on July 7. For help accessing the survey, please contact sgridley@fmschools.org.