Who will decide if N.J. kids go back to school? – NJ.com

Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego and Philadelphia are among the large public school districts that have announced in recent weeks they are starting the school year with remote learning plans because in-person classes would be too dangerous as COVID-19 cases rise.

In New Jersey, where coronavirus infection numbers have dropped dramatically since last spring, the state is moving ahead with plans to have all 2,500 public schools reopen with at least some in-person classes.

But pressure is mounting on state officials to reconsider.

State lawmakers said Wednesday they are introducing legislation that would require public schools to offer all-remote learning until at least Oct. 31. Two large teachers unions, representing thousands of teachers in Essex County and Paterson, have called on the state to cancel plans for in-person classes.

The head of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, says school districts should be given the option of staying closed if they have safety concerns. And at least one school district, Bayonne, has already submitted a reopening plan to the state asking for permission to offer only virtual classes.

So, who will ultimately decide if New Jersey school kids take a seat at their desks this fall?

The New Jersey school system is complicated. There are nearly 600 public school districts, each with their own superintendents and school boards, along with county superintendents, a state education department and a state education commissioner.

But, the decision on sending kids back to school would most likely lie with Gov. Phil Murphy in consultation with the state Department of Education. It was Murphy’s executive order that closed all schools in March as the pandemic began. He would likely do it again if conditions get worse.

Murphy’s administration will also make any final decisions on school reopening plans, said Alyana Alfaro, the governor’s spokeswoman.

“The Department of Education will review reopening plans submitted by school districts. Final determinations will be made by the administration only after plans have been reviewed,” Alfaro said.

School districts could appeal to the state courts if the state rejects their reopening plans, although no district officials have publicly said they might try that route and challenge the state’s authority.

Murphy has not wavered in recent days on the decision to reopen schools with in-person classes.

“Obviously, the clock is ticking here for the school year,” Murphy said Wednesday. “These calls are really hard.”

Murphy has repeatedly said he will consider health, education and equity, in that order, when deciding whether to open schools. He has said education experts agree it is important to offer in-person classes because they are more effective than remote learning. He also stressed some families, including those in low-income and minority districts, don’t have the childcare or money to keep kids home full time for distance learning.

New Jersey also introduced an opt-out plan last week for families who want to keep their kids at home full time for distance learning if they are concerned about returning to the classroom.

Under the current system, school districts must submit their reopening plans to the state Department of Education for approval at least four weeks before the start of school. Most districts are finalizing their plans now.

The state guidelines, issued in June, say schools should offer at least some in-person classes and social distancing in classrooms. But they do not say what will happen if districts don’t meet the guidelines when they submit their reopening plans for approval.

When asked about Bayonne, the 9,600-student Hudson County district that submitted a reopening plan calling for all-virtual classes, Murphy declined to comment directly.

But he did not dismiss the idea that the state Department of Education might be lenient and approve reopening plans, even if they don’t strictly meet the state’s guidelines.

“We take all the inputs and reports on how they want to reopen seriously,” Murphy said. “We’ll look at each one of these plans and look at the dimensions around that particular district and how their plan fits in.”

In Bayonne, school officials said they have already approved a back-up plan — in which a third of students would go to school every two days in a rotation while the rest stay home remote learning — assuming the state will reject their all-remote proposal.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers are trying to use the state Legislature to force the state to keep school buildings closed.

Three Democrats in the Assembly said they will introduce a bill calling for public schools to stay closed with remote learning until Oct. 31, then have Murphy reconsider opening them every month based on health data. Only special education and disabled students would be eligible for in-person classes until then, the proposed bill says.

“No one can deny the benefits of in-person instruction, especially for our younger students. However, the safety of our children must always come first,” said Joann Downey (D-Monmouth), head of the Assembly Human Services Committee and one of the sponsors of the bill. “We also must keep in mind our valued teachers, many of whom have health concerns or fear bringing the virus home to their families.”

It is unclear how much support the proposed bill will have in the Assembly. The state Senate would need to approve an identical measure before it went to Murphy for his signature to become law.

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said the ultimate decision on when and how to reopen schools should come from the state education department, not the state Legislature.

“The earlier the better,” Ruiz said, adding that families need time to plan if schools are not going to reopen with in-person classes.

NJEA President Marie Blistan, head of the state’s largest teachers’ union, said she believes the back-to-school decision will ultimately lie with Murphy. And when the pandemic is over, people will look back to see if he made the right decision for students and teachers.

“In the end, the story is not going to be all this. It’s going to be … Did we do everything that we could to keep as many people as we could safe and healthy in this state?” Blistan said. “I believe that will be Gov. Murphy’s legacy.”

Staff writers Adam Clark and Josh Axelrod contributed to this report.

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

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