N.J. schools may be able to start all-remote in major reversal of reopening plan

Highland Park school district sanitizes its classrooms as  coronavirus spreads thougout N.J.

An empty school in Highland Park.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

THE LATEST: Will my N.J. school go all-remote? Here is the newly released plan for reopening.

As a national debate continues to rage over whether schools should reopen this fall despite the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday that public schools in New Jersey will have the option of starting the new academic year with no in-person classes if they meet certain criteria.

Previously, the state was requiring all of New Jersey’s 600 districts to have at least some form of in-person learning to start the 2020-21 school year. The change comes just a few weeks before the state’s schools — and 1.4 million students — are scheduled to begin lessons amid anxiety and uncertainty thanks to COVID-19.

Officials stressed the goal is for as many schools as possible to physically reopen, and that schools will not be able to simply choose to go all-remote.

Murphy said he’s signing an executive order “clearing” K-12 schools and colleges in the Garden State to reopen with in-person classes. Public and private schools will need to file a certification with the state saying they can meet the Department of Education’s reopening guidelines on their first day to begin in-person instruction.

But if they can’t meet one or more of the guidelines — including having barriers or social distancing measures in place in classrooms — the district can ask to start the school year with virtual learning at home for all students.

Districts will then need to tell the state their plans for meeting then standards and a date they anticipate being able to resume in-person classes.

“We recognize that for some districts, there are legitimate and documentable reasons why some of these core health and safety standards can’t be met on Day One,” Murphy said at his latest coronavirus press briefing in Trenton. “For these districts, today we are reaffirming our commitment to provide the flexibility for districts to do what is best for their school community.”

He insisted there “has to be a rationale associated with not opening.”

“There’s got to be a reason for it,” Murphy said.

This all comes amid increasing pressure from some local officials, educators, and union leaders for schools to remain closed as COVID-19 continues to affect New Jersey.

Officials said the did not know for how many school districts have already asked to go all-remote. But they said the vast majority of districts will offer a mix of in-person and remote classes.

Murphy said the state will have more detailed reopening guidelines for schools by Thursday.

Jersey City, Elizabeth, Willingboro, and Bayonne are among the districts that have already said they will ask the state to allow them to start the school year with no in-person classes.

In Willingboro, the school district has concerns about its ventilation systems, backordered personal protective equipment, protective barriers that isn’t installed yet and computer equipment that hasn’t arrived, the district’s superintendent said. The district also wants more time for training teachers in how to teach students in the classroom and at home simultaneously.

Willingboro is asking the state to allow its schools to remain all-remote until the end of the first marking period in November when it has more safety measures in place, the superintendent said.

“We are simply not ready to move forward,” Neely Hackett, the Willingboro superintendent, said at the governor’s press conference.

MORE: 9 questions answered about N.J.‘s revised school reopening plan

The move to give districts more flexibility in how they start the school year is a significant shift in the guidelines originally proposed by the Murphy administration in June. After ending the last school year with three months of all virtual learning, the state was requiring all of New Jersey’s 2,500 public schools to offer at least some in-person classes — though with restrictions like masking and social distancing.

But Murphy left open the possibility of changing plans as the school year got closer. Last month, he announced the state would require districts to offer parents the option of choosing all-remote learning for their children.

Wednesday’s announcement goes further.


It comes less than 24 hours after leaders of the state’s largest teacher union and groups representing school administrators issued a joint statement Tuesday night calling on Murphy and the state Department of Education to have all New Jersey schools open remotely in the fall over health concerns because of the virus.

“For months, New Jersey educators and administrators have been working tirelessly to find a way to safely bring students back into school buildings in September. Now, with less than a month remaining before schools are scheduled to reopen, it is time to reluctantly acknowledge that goal is simply not achievable,” said Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; Patricia Wright, executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; and Marie Blistan, president of the New Jersey Education Association.

“Reopening schools for in-person instruction under the current conditions poses too great a risk to the health of students and schools staff,” they continued.

“We fully support and share the governor’s goal of moving to in-person instruction as soon as the science and data say we can do so responsibly and when the resources are available in our school buildings to do it safely,” the union leaders added.

Some educators and officials have warned that there may not be enough teachers to teach in-person classes because teachers won’t teach in person out of fear of contracting the virus.

The school board in Elizabeth — New Jersey’s fourth-largest municipality — voted Monday to begin the school year with all-remote classes, despite the state’s guidelines, because 375 of its teachers have said they will not physically return to school. The plan would need to be approved by the state.

On the other side, many parents, officials, and President Donald Trump have been pushing for schools to reopen across the nation. Many argue that students don’t get the same education from online classes and parents in many two-income households can’t stay home with children because they have to work.

Asked Wednesday if the state will help parents will get help with daycare, Murphy said he had “nothing new” on the issue.

“We’re gonna work with each of those districts, financially and going through their checklists,” the governor said.

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COVID-19, so far, has not had as major as impact on children compared to people who are older and have pre-existing conditions.

But opponents of returning to school say kids could pass the virus to teachers and administrators. They also argue it’s still unclear how the virus affects children.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released last month found New Jerseyans are divided on the issue. The survey found 46% of Garden State adults say schools should reopen with protective measures, while 42% say students should continue with remote learning until there is a COVID-19 treatment or vaccine.

The uncertainty comes as New Jersey, once a coronavirus hotspot, sees its numbers continue to trend in the right direction. On Wednesday, the state reported nine more deaths related to COVID-19 and 484 new cases, while the rate of transmission remained below the key benchmark of 1 for the third straight day. Those numbers are down significantly from the state’s peak in mid-April.

But Murphy on Monday said it’s still too risky to allow restaurants to reopen for indoor dining, saying the idea of people sitting without masks inside without strong ventilation is still an issue.

He also continued to urge residents to keep social distancing and wearing masks to make sure the numbers don’t spike again and help prevent more death.

“Please don’t get complacent,” the governor said. “The virus is out there.”

RELATED: How N.J.‘s push to reopen schools devolved into chaos

NJ Advance Media staff writer Adam Clark contributed to this report.

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Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.

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