Editor’s Note: On August 9, we highlighted the fact that the NYS Department of Health would NOT be issuing any guidelines for school districts across New York State concerning COVID back to school guidelines, recommendations or mandates. NYS Education Commissioner Betsy Rosa was looking for guidance on behalf of the school districts and called on Governor Cuomo and the NYS Health Department to do so.
After not receiving any information from the NYS DOH other than to follow CDC guidelines, Rosa and the NYS Education Department released their own guidelines, which can be found at the link below:
http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/back-school/nysed-health-and-safety-guide-for-the-2021-2022-school-year.pdf
“Reopening amidst a pandemic for the second consecutive year is truly a daunting task,” Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said in a statement. “Our hope is that this guide, coupled with the input of local health officials will help the state’s education community as they prepare for September.”
Incoming Governor Kathy Hochul said, “I believe there will end up being mask mandates. I just don’t have the authority at this moment.” Hochul takes over aug 24, but parents and students can expect to mask up in school.
The other big takeaway is that sports and extracurricular activities could be cancelled in counties that have high transmissions of COVID-19, unless all participants in the sport are vaccinated against COVID-19. This includes most indoor sports.
Among the state recommendations for K-12 schools in New York:
- Universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status and community transmission levels.
- Maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms.
- When schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining the 3-feet distances, it is important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as cohorting.
- A distance of at least 6 feet is recommended between students and teachers/staff, and between teachers/staff who are not fully vaccinated.
The guidelines also say that “people who are fully vaccinated can refrain from quarantine following a known exposure if they are asymptomatic, facilitating continued participation in in-person learning, sports, and extracurricular activities.”
Fully vaccinated students and staff should get tested 3-5 days after their exposure, even if they do not have symptoms, and wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until their test result is negative, the guidance added.
The report encourages students experiencing COVID symptoms to say home and get tested.
Practice for fall sports is scheduled to begin Aug. 23. For the fall season, football, volleyball and competitive cheer are considered “high” risk sports by the state Department of Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker, seven counties within Section II — Schenectady, Albany, Saratoga, Schoharie, Montgomery, Rensselaer and Warren — were listed with high rates of community COVID transmission as of August 12. Westchester County was not on the list.
