Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Schools Update: NYC Public Schools Should Stay Open Even If City Shuts Down, De Blasio Says

By

David Cruz

and

Sophia Chang

Published Dec 15, 2020

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

A person waits on a line outside a COVID-19 testing site that provides priority testing for NYC Department of Education staff through NYC Health + Hospitals in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

 

John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock

By

David Cruz

and

Sophia Chang

Published Dec 15, 2020

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

This is our regular update following the reopening of NYC schools for Tuesday, December 15th, 2020.

Here's the latest:

New York City’s public schools will stay open even if the rest of the city shuts down to combat increasing coronavirus rates, Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed at his Tuesday press briefing.

While acknowledging that the final call to keep schools open is up to Governor Andrew Cuomo, de Blasio said he believed the city’s schools -- of which only 3K, elementary and District 75 schools are currently open for in-person learning -- are “the safest places in New York City."

“Right now, we're seeing extraordinary success in keeping our schools safe. I want to keep them open. If we do have a PAUSE, that will be the decision the state makes,” de Blasio said. “But the schools -- with all the layer upon layer of health and safety measures, with this gold standard of health protections that we put in place -- schools can effectively keep serving kids and kids need it.”

The Department of Education’s case tracker shows 53 schools of the 878 reopened 3K, elementary and District 75 schools are in the midst of 14-day shutdowns because of two or more COVID-19 cases identified in the school community, as per DOE protocols. Another 74 schools are in the midst of initial 24-hour shutdowns as COVID-19 cases are investigated.

“You will have some school shutdowns. But the vast majority of schools are open and serving kids and doing an amazing job of keeping everyone safe,” de Blasio said.

The mayor’s senior Health Advisor Dr. Jay Varma added that the increase in cases in schools was a result of increases in the city, but there’s no correlation to transmission in school communities.

“What we have seen with our data that we get from testing in schools, as well as the reporting of cases occurring in students and any staff outside of school, is that schools are not increasing the rate of transmission or people's risk of getting infected,” Varma said at the press briefing. “The schools aren't going to protect you from getting infected in the community necessarily, but we can reduce any transmission that might occur in those (schools) through all those safety measures.”

The city’s Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi also noted that schools are “instruments of promoting health in our communities” in large part because of “the services that are provided, both for mental health as well as social services.”

Chokshi added, “That's why we have taken those painstaking steps to make them as safe as possible because they promote health.”

In a statement from the United Federation of Teachers union, its president Michael Mulgrew called the possibility of keeping schools open during a citywide shutdown a bad idea.

"The UFT fought to re-open schools – but only with the equipment, procedures, and testing that made them safe," Mulgrew said in a statement. "If the coronavirus infection rate rises to the point that a citywide 'shelter in place' is necessary, keeping school buildings open would be irresponsible."

A request for comment to the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators union was not immediately answered Tuesday.

Public School Parents And Faculty Sue NYC Over Mandatory COVID-19 Testing

12 p.m. Public school teachers and parents are suing the city over claims the Department of Education is not being wholly transparent over the fate of COVID-19 test samples collected by labs hired for its random weekly testing program. They're now asking a judge to allow students to return to the classroom in person without having to sign a form agreeing to participate in the mandatory testing program.

The suit was filed Monday afternoon in Manhattan State Supreme Court on behalf of eight plaintiffs, including public school parents and faculty who make up NY Teachers for Choice, a group that opposes "medical mandates" for public school teachers. They seek an injunction against the DOE's policy to force students and faculty to transfer to full remote learning if they decline to sign the consent forms, arguing that it violates Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

In addition, the group contends they do not have strong guarantees that the DNA collected won't be placed into a database without their approval. They're specifically looking for a contract the DOE signed with Fulgent Genetics, Inc., which was hired in October to administer the tests. So far, they have only been presented with an agreement, which the group's attorney, Michael Sussman, argues does not explicitly state that the specimens will be destroyed.

"To date, not a single contract has been produced by the DOE or NYC [Health + Hospitals] that proves what is, and is not, permitted to be done with specimens collected from in-school COVID testing," a statement from NY Teachers For Choice reads. "All such agreements remain secret which is ridiculous as they are all public contracts and should be made available upon request."

The agreement posted on the DOE's website states that testing labs hired by the agency cannot collect information and store it in any DNA database.

“Student privacy is extremely important to us, and our public agreements with our contractors clearly state that they will not collect biometric records, including DNA records, as part of their testing," a spokesperson said in an email to Gothamist. "We will review the suit.”

But even with those agreements posted, Sussman says their release is not as important as a written contract that explicitly states the test specimens won't go to any proprietary DNA database, which Fulgent is known for maintaining.

“This is not a suit opposing testing the New York City school district. There may be people who oppose testing and they can have their lawsuit litigated in another forum, this is not that case,” Sussman said at a news conference on Monday.

The randomized testing program applies to tens of thousands of students and faculty members who've re-entered the classroom for in-person learning. Before schools opened, Mayor Bill de Blasio stressed that for a student or faculty member to re-enter a building they must sign a consent form that enrolls them into the testing program, which randomly tests 20% of students and staff on a weekly basis.

Tagged

schools reopening

David Cruz

David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Sophia Chang

Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags

Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.

By

Giulia Heyward

Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET

MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says

In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."

By

Stephen Nessen

News

MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says

In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."

By

Stephen Nessen

High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial

By

David Brand

Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits

By

Caroline Lewis

Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .