N.J. schools reopening: These districts plan all-remote, virtual classes (Aug. 26, 2020 updates) – NJ.com

Find all of the most important pandemic education news on Educating N.J., a special resource guide created for parents, students and educators.

Lingering concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and strict safety guidelines have prompted more New Jersey school districts to draft plans to start the upcoming school year with all-remote instruction instead of in-person classroom learning.

As of earlier this week, 180 school districts across the state have applied to begin the 2020-2021 school year with all-remote learning, while 59 districts plan to fully reopen and the remaining districts are moving forward with a hybrid mix of in-person and remote learning, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The state Department of Education has to approve all reopening plans before they can be implemented. The department has received 745 total plans for reopening. Of those, 105 plans are still under review while 389 have been “returned to districts for necessary revisions,” the governor said.

For many school districts, the push for all-remote instruction was prompted by lingering concerns over the coronavirus and questions over whether schools can guarantee a safe environment for students and teachers.

NJ Advance Media has been able to confirm the following 150 districts have announced they’re seeking state approval to start with all-remote classes for the 2020-2021 school year. NJ Advance Media will add to the list as more districts announce their plans. (For the very latest reopening plans, and additional details about specific schools, please contact your school district.)

ATLANTIC COUNTY

  • Atlantic City
  • Brigantine (remote with reentry on, or before, Nov. 11, the end of the first marking period)
  • Egg Harbor Township (virtual starting Sept. 8; plan to start hybrid schedule Oct. 26)
  • Pleasantville
  • Somers Point (Jordan Road School to go all-remote at start of the year; New York Avenue and Dawes Avenue schools reopening on hybrid schedule to start).

BERGEN COUNTY

  • Bergen County Technical Schools and Special Services (through Oct. 19)
  • Bergenfield (remote start, until Oct. 16)
  • Edgewater (remote for the month of September; district expects to reevaluate in the middle of September)
  • Fair Lawn (through Oct. 19)
  • Fort Lee (through Oct. 16)
  • Garfield (plan submitted to state Department of Education to start all-remote and transition to hybrid)
  • Hackensack (schools plan to reopen Nov. 2)
  • Lyndhurst (remote learning until Oct. 16; in-person instruction scheduled to begin Oct. 19)
  • North Arlington (through Oct. 16)
  • Palisades Park (through at least Oct. 13)
  • Ridgefield (through first marking period)
  • Teaneck (through first marking period)
  • Wallington (through Oct. 13)

BURLINGTON COUNTY

  • Bordentown (Sept. 3 through at least Oct. 9)
  • Burlington City (through at least Oct. 13)
  • Burlington Township (through first marking period)
  • Chesterfield (schools plan to reopen Oct. 19)
  • Eastampton (through first marking period)
  • Florence (remote through Sept 18. Hybrid starts Sept. 21.)
  • Lumberton (remote learning Sept. 8 to Sept. 18, hybrid learning starting Sept. 21)
  • Palmyra
  • Pemberton Township (through at least Oct. 13)
  • Rancocas Valley (Sept. 8 through Sept. 25)
  • Westampton
  • Willingboro (through Nov. 18)

CAMDEN COUNTY

  • Audubon (through Nov. 4)
  • Barrington (remote through at least Nov. 9)
  • Camden (through Jan. 31)
  • Collingswood/Oaklyn (through mid-October)
  • Eastern Regional (return to school Oct. 5 )
  • Gloucester City (through Oct. 16)
  • Haddon Heights (through Oct. 30)
  • Lindenwold
  • Winslow Township (through Jan. 1)

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

  • Bridgeton (through Oct. 13)
  • Commercial Township (through Oct. 13)
  • Cumberland County Technical Education Center (plans to move to hybrid model Oct. 13)
  • Cumberland Regional
  • Deerfield Township (through Oct. 13)
  • Downe Township (through Oct. 13)
  • Fairfield (through Nov. 2)
  • Greenwich/Stow Creek (through Oct. 13)
  • Hopewell Township (through Oct. 12)
  • Lawrence Township (through Oct. 12)
  • Maurice River School District (through Oct. 12)
  • Millville (through Oct. 13)
  • Upper Deerfield (fully remote through at least Oct. 12)
  • Vineland (through Oct. 13)

ESSEX COUNTY

  • Bloomfield (through September)
  • Caldwell-West Caldwell (remote to Oct. 7 except for a group of self-contained special education classes)
  • East Orange (through September)
  • Glen Ridge (high school remote-only through Oct. 5)
  • Irvington
  • Livingston (school year to start all remote)
  • Millburn (first quarter of school year)
  • Montclair
  • Newark (through first marking period)
  • Nutley (through first marking period)
  • Orange (remote learning through Nov. 25; hybrid begins Nov. 29)
  • South Orange-Maplewood (through first marking period)
  • Verona (most students will start with remote learning except for pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, ESL and certain other students)
  • West Orange

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

  • Delsea Regional
  • Deptford (through Sept. 30)
  • Logan Twp. (remote for first marking period)
  • Monroe Township (through at least Nov. 16)
  • National Park Schools (remote through at least Oct. 13)
  • Pitman (remote through Oct. 5)
  • Woodbury

HUDSON COUNTY

  • Bayonne
  • Guttenberg
  • Harrison (through Nov. 13)
  • Hoboken (all virtual Sept. 14 to Sept. 19, optional in-person after that)
  • Hudson County Schools of Technology (through Sept. 28)
  • Jersey City
  • Kearny
  • North Bergen (through the end of September)
  • Union City (for at least the month of September)
  • West New York

HUNTERDON COUNTY

  • Flemington-Raritan (through Oct. 30)
  • Readington (remote to at least Oct. 19)

MERCER COUNTY

  • Ewing (Return to in-person learning for those who have signed up for it: Grades K-2/SE – Sept. 9; Grades 3-5: Sept. 29; Fisher Middle School: Oct. 12; Ewing High School: Oct. 26)
  • Hamilton (through first marking period)
  • Lawrence Township (all students will start remote)
  • Mercer County Special Services
  • Mercer County Technical Schools (remote through Nov. 9)
  • Princeton Charter School
  • Princeton Township public schools
  • Trenton

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

  • Carteret (remote until Oct. 9; plans to begin hybrid learning on Oct. 13)
  • Cranbury (remote through Oct. 16)
  • Dunellen (through the Thanksgiving holiday)
  • Edison (at least until Oct. 16)
  • Highland Park (until Oct. 5 for some students)
  • Jamesburg (remote until Nov. 1)
  • Metuchen (at least until Oct. 1)
  • Middlesex Borough
  • Regional Education Services Commission of New Jersey
  • Milltown (remote in September; district to reassess for October)
  • Monroe Township (remote learning until Nov. 13 and reassess for hybrid learning to start on Nov. 16)
  • New Brunswick (first two marking periods)
  • North Brunswick (first marking period)
  • Old Bridge (until Oct. 12)
  • Perth Amboy (until at least Nov. 18, the end of first marking period)
  • Piscataway (until at least Nov. 13)
  • Sayreville (until at least Nov. 12)
  • South Brunswick
  • South Plainfield
  • South River (plans for in-person instruction on Oct. 1)
  • Spotswood (until at least Sept. 18)
  • Woodbridge (until at least Oct. 12)

MONMOUTH COUNTY

  • Asbury Park (first 30 days; return to school Oct. 8)
  • Freehold Borough (will reevaluate by Nov. 13)
  • Freehold Township (Students in self-contained classes attend school in person beginning Sept. 8; first 2 weeks of school remain virtual for all other students, who return to school Sept. 21)
  • Long Branch
  • Manalapan-Englishtown (at least the first two weeks of school for some schools)
  • Neptune Township (will re-evaluate by the end of October)
  • Ocean Township (until Sept. 11)

MORRIS COUNTY

  • Boonton (remote at the start of the school year)
  • Butler (remote for most students; in person instruction for specific students)
  • Dover (through first marking period)
  • Montville (middle and high school students to start remote)

OCEAN COUNTY

  • Lacey Township (remote to start, on Sept. 8, and then a hybrid model from Sept. 21)
  • Toms River (through first marking period)

PASSAIC COUNTY

  • Clifton (remote to start year; district to reevaluate conditions on Oct. 1, with possible reopening for in-person instruction on Oct. 12.
  • Passaic (through September)
  • Paterson (through at least Nov. 1)

SALEM COUNTY

  • Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District (remote to start; may go hybrid on Oct. 19)

SOMERSET COUNTY

  • Bedminster (all virtual starting Sept. 10, phase-in hybrid learning model set to begin Sept. 29 through mid-October, depending on the cohort or small group the child is in. All cohorting students will be phased in no later than Oct. 15.)
  • Bernards Township (through Oct. 1)
  • Bridgewater-Raritan (remote through Oct. 12)
  • Franklin Township
  • Hillsborough (virtual until Sept. 28, with plans to start hybrid option later)
  • Montgomery (virtual for September, then re-evaluating plans for in-person on Oct. 12)
  • North Plainfield (virtual at least through the first marking period)

SUSSEX COUNTY

  • Sparta (remote through Oct. 30; in person instruction for students with IEPs in specialized programs)

UNION COUNTY

  • Berkeley Heights (Governor Livingston High School will begin remote only after a single day of hybrid instruction; remote only plan will be revisited monthly)
  • Elizabeth
  • Hillside (will reassess three weeks before the end of the first marking period)
  • Linden (will reassess the end of each month)
  • Plainfield (through at least Nov. 1)
  • Rahway
  • Roselle (through first marking period)
  • Roselle Park
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Springfield (through Nov. 2)
  • Union Township (will reassess on Oct. 15 for targeted return date of Nov. 1)

WARREN COUNTY

  • Phillipsburg (through Oct. 5)

Do you know of a school district that’s starting remotely? Tell us about it here.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Caroline Fassett may be reached at CFassett@njadvancemedia.com. Katie Kausch may be reached at KKausch@njadvancemedia.com. Evan Slavit may be reached at eslavit@njadvancemedia.com. Nestor Sebastian may be reached at nsebastian@njadvancemedia.com.

Have a news tip or a story idea about New Jersey schools? Send it here.