N.J. schools with ‘hurdles’ can open remotely. Here’s what it means. - NJ.com

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Gov. Phil Murphy dropped his mandate Wednesday that all public schools in New Jersey must reopen, allowing some districts with health and safety “hurdles” to begin the year remotely “as long as it’s justified.”

Final guidelines are “being hammered out” and expected no later than Thursday, Murphy said in his regular coronavirus media briefing.

The decision appears to be a compromise aimed at districts like Elizabeth Public Schools, which faces a dramatic teacher shortage, rather than a green light for any school system that prefers not to reopen for in-person instruction.

“Districts are expected to have to tell the department what hurdles to providing in-person education they are facing and a date they are working towards resolving those hurdles,” a source with knowledge of the issue told NJ Advance Media. “The goal is still to have as much in-person learning as possible in the state.”

The governor’s office is calling his announcement “a plan to work with districts who need flexibility to operate remotely until it is safe to return to in-person learning.”

It remains to be seen what qualifies as a hurdle or how the state will determine which districts need flexibility. But Murphy has stressed that schools need to reopen, and most districts have already announced detailed plans to do so with hybrid schedules to accommodate social distancing.

The new revised plan calls for schools to file a certification with the state Board of Education that they can meet the state’s health and safety rules.

They must also complete a checklist on the state Department of Education website saying they can meet more than 40 guidelines for in-person classes. It ranges from social distancing in classrooms and on buses to requiring masks to creating a contact tracing plan.

If schools say they can’t meet one or more of the guidelines, districts can request to start the year with all-remote learning.

However, if more districts come forward asking for flexibility, the announcement could add to the chaos that has ensued as the school year approaches and opposition to reopening grows.

Bayonne, Jersey City and Willingboro are among the districts that have already submitted school reopening plans to the state with no in-person classes, saying it’s just not safe for students and teachers.

On Monday, Elizabeth joined that group, saying it would be impossible to provide in-person instruction because 375 of its educators will not return to the classroom.

A day later, the state’s largest teachers union demanded Murphy keep all schools closed.

“The stakes are too high, and the consequences of a wrong decision are too grave,” the New Jersey Education Association said in a joint statement with the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association.

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Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com.

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N.J. schools with ‘hurdles’ can open remotely. Here’s what it means. - NJ.com
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