Cuomo says New York schools will remain closed for rest of academic year due to COVID-19

ALBANY, N.Y. — Schools in New York state will remain closed for the remainder of this academic year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

Remote instruction will continue for the rest of the academic year, which typically ends in the second half of June.

The governor said the state will make a decision by the end of May for how summer school will work across New York.

The bottom line is most students will not return to school until September at the earliest.

The governor encouraged schools to start working now on their reopening plans for the fall.

“The big question is going to be September, and are you going to be ready reopen schools then,” Cuomo said at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Albany.

As for today’s decision, the governor said it was simply not possible for the state’s 700 public school districts, with 4,800 schools and nearly 2.6 million students, to put in place the kind of social-distancing measures needed to safely restart in-person instruction this month or next month.

The high density in school classrooms, cafeterias, and on buses presents greater risk of virus spread unless protective measures are full in place, Cuomo said.