On Friday, Aug. 7, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that in-person instruction is permitted in all regions of New York state for the start of the 2020-21 school year based on current COVID-19 infection rates, while also outlining new requirements related to school reopening plans.
These requirements include highlighting plans for remote learning, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, which are all parts of the district’s reopening plan that was recently submitted to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and New York State Department of Health (DOH). Those sections of our plan can be found at the following link:
The governor is also requiring schools to hold at least three information sessions for parents and members of the community to ask questions and learn more about our reopening plan. Herkimer BOCES will hold the following sessions for parents and guardians:
- The Parent Forum for Technical Education (CTE and VP-TECH) will be Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 5 p.m.
- The Parent Forum for Special Education Programs will be Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 6 p.m.
- The Parent Forum for Alternative Education (Pathways) will be Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m.
Since June, Herkimer BOCES has been working to formulate plans for reopening school in September. These plans were created based on guidelines from federal and state agencies, as well as feedback from community stakeholders. A copy of our complete reopening plan can be found here.
The Governor also said school districts must make three distinct parts of their reopening plans (remote learning, COVID testing and contact tracing) easily available on their websites, and take specific steps to engage parents and teachers in the reopening process. That information can be easily accessed at the following links: