NJ school districts will welcome students back to buildings in the fall, but with major changes
New Jersey schools will reopen for in-person instruction in the fall as long as COVID-19 rates don’t spike, state officials said on Friday.
School districts must offer some in-person instruction and can not continue to conduct 100 percent of their lessons remotely in the fall, but districts can implement a hybrid approach where students also receive remote instruction on some days.
The wearing of facial masks, social distancing, frequent cleaning of buildings, contact tracing, and the flexibility to adapt to the situation as it evolves based on public health data are all key components of the state’s plans for reopening school buildings. The plans are detailed in “The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education,” a 104-page document.
Each school district will be required to develop a reopening plan. Officials said many decisions are up to local school district officials so they can tailor the guidlines to meet the needs of their districts. Each of New Jersey’s 577 public school districts will have to weigh its options and come up with its own proposal that meets or exceeds the minimum guidelines.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach we can take,” Gov. Phil Murphy said at his daily press briefing in Trenton on Friday. Officials said districts should try to share preliminary scheduling plans with staff and students at least four weeks before the start of the school year.
That guidance and recommendations:
- Masks will be required for school staff and visitors. Masks are strongly recommended for students and required when social distancing can’t be maintained, including on buses.
- Social distancing in classrooms, seating students at least six feet apart. If that’s not possible, students must wear masks and physical barriers can be built between desks.
- Districts must screen students and employees for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. Those with symptoms must be isolated from others. The guidance calls on staff to observing students, though temperature checks are preferred.
- Schools and school buses must be sanitized.
- Lunch buffet lines are not allowed. Mealtimes must be staggered. Districts should consider having students eat grab-and-go meals in their classrooms or have meals delivered to classrooms.
- Recess should be implemented in staggered shifts, with playground equipment and other shared equipment disinfected by staff between uses.
- Districts should consider closing locker rooms. Students could be encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and safe footwear to take part in physical education classes without needing to change clothes.
- Social distancing is expected on school buses. The CDC recommends that only one student be seated in a row, with rows skipped between each child if possible. Barriers separating rows of seats are also possible.
- In all cases where social distancing is not possible, students must wear masks unless they are unable to for health reasons.
- Keeping school buildings closed for district-wide remote learning is not an option. Students can be taught in-person in staggered shifts if necessary. Students must receive a minimum of four instructional hours (either in-person or remote) each school day.
Executive orders issued by the governor must be followed by school districts and supersede all other orders and regulations.
Murphy required the state’s schools to close on March 18. Parents have been waiting for an announcement about whether children will return to school in the fall so they can make decisions about childcare and returning to work. Murphy said Friday the importance of schools providing childcare so parents can work was one reason for making sure school buildings open up.
Murphy said schools are expected to start the new academic year in late August or early September. School officials can make changes to schedules as long as students go to school the 180 days required by state statute,
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
The governor needs to supply more information.
I’m trying to make face masks for a neighbor’s granddaughter (first grade) and I need a little more information.
-do students have to wear a new mask every day or just one that is washed and dried every night?
-will the masks require an extra inside lining, ie, coffee filter, polypropylene?
-any special consideration for the nose piece? I’ve used pipe cleaners on my own face masks, but the wire can be very sharp. Same with twist ties. I’ve also taken the nose piece out of the blue hospital masks before throwing away and used them. They are a little long but useable.
-for the over the ears elastic I have found non-latex stretchy material. I’m severely allergic to latex and I’m sure some little ones will be as well.
I wanted to send these to the governor but since I’m not on Facebook and they don’t have email I couldn’t send them in. Some of us “elders” aren’t into all the social media!
It so true my grandson have a asthma I don’t think Murphy should be talking about opening up no school right now they need to find a vaccine before any school opening it’s getting crazy it’s not about the people in the United states anymore
This is so wrong! Kids immune system is sensitive and still growing. How can you expect them to not get sick as soon as Fall comes. Especially, especially with the covid now. This is a very sensitive touch for parents. Whether you need to get back to work or not, sending the kids back to school because you Governor Murphy is saying is ok, its not the right thing to do! How dare you! Remote learning needs to be implemented and be stronger! There are people dying ever day still. How can you do this to us. Our kids, our little precious kids! You skipped over opening the Gym and went straight to the most critical atmosphere a child can get sick. Between October to March is Cold/Flu seasons. Why on earth would you be ok with them going back in the times that we are living in. You must not have any little kids or grandchildren, and if you do God mercy on you for feeling this way. Like it’s “all good!”
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH LULA. Schools shouldn’t be opened until this Covid-19 is gone. Trying to get my child to keep a hat on and now a mask is a challenge in itself, but this is not like catching a cold, it’s life or death. So what will happen, we have to wait until (God Forbid)someone’s child dies before we can close NJ’s schools again? Let’s be proactive, not reactive.
Since our schools are meant to educate, shouldn’t teachers be TEACHING KIDS to respect science? Wear that mask, even just for now. Let’s all beat COVID-19.
Enforcement begins with understanding. Each school term, even each class, for as long as needed, should start with a reminder that every student needs to protect everyone else by wearing a mask until we all find a better way.
PATIENCE!!