As I suspected - it's like I know
things.
Citing concerns about the safety of teachers and students, three New Jersey lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to introduce legislation to require school districts to keep their buildings closed and offer only remote instruction for the new school year.
...
Only special education and related services would be delivered in person, according to the proposed bill.
“The reality is the pandemic isn’t over. School is set to begin in just a few weeks, and it is not clear that a safe and comfortable environment can be maintained for students and staff,” said Jasey, D-Essex. “As a former Board of Education member and a public health nurse, I understand that New Jersey has made strong progress in combating COVID-19, but reopening schools for in-person instruction would feel like a step backward at this time.”
Of note:
Under the bill, public schools would start the year with virtual learning at home only. Starting on Oct. 31, reopening schools for in-person classes would be evaluated on a monthly basis by Murphy, with the help of the state education and health departments based on COVID-19 infection data and other statistics.
The proposal also calls for school districts to have the option of delaying the start of the school year by two weeks so teachers could be trained in how to teach online. The bill would also allow schools to hold outdoor events so students could get to know their teachers and classmates at the start of the school year.
This is really the part the angers me. We knew back in March that the school year was in trouble. We also knew in May they weren't going back to a classroom. Teachers could have been given guidance/tools/training between June, July and August to try and prepare for September, but instead we waffled around and tried to hope for better news. To be clear, it's the same thing that happened in higher ed, though their decisions were based on pulling in revenue. Once again, we squandered the time we were given.
