New York City students and teachers will be back in classrooms for nearly two weeks before even any limited mandatory coronavirus testing starts, officials said Tuesday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced that the start of in-class learning would be pushed back from Sept. 10 to Sept. 21 — but required monthly random testing for students and teachers doesn’t begin till Oct. 1.
“Beginning October 1st and recurring each month, it will be mandatory for schools to test a random 10-20% sample of their students participating in blended learning and on-site staff population,’’ City Hall said in a press release after the officials’ press conference unveiling their 11th-hour change in plans.
“Families will be asked to sign a consent form at the start of the year for their child to participate at random, and be notified ahead of time if their child has been selected for the month,’’ the statement said.
A City Hall rep — asked about the lag between the start of in-class instruction Sept. 21 and when planned limited mandatory testing is slated to begin Oct. 1 — replied, “We’re encouraging staff and students to get tested prior to the school year.
“It doesn’t make sense to start a monthly program mid-month,’’ she added.
An administration source said the in-school testing “is a mechanism to help us understand and monitor the level of infection within a school once the year begins.
“If you’re testing random intervals of people before they enter a school building, it’s not helpful,” the source said.
Students whose parents won’t let them be tested will be moved to remote-learning only, while teachers who refuse to get tested will be put on unpaid leave, the teachers union said.
