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Here is the school closing and quarantine plan at NYC schools

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Updated  August 27, 2021 5:50am EDT
New York City Public Schools
FOX 5 NY

NYC school COVID guide

The city has published a guide to help parents navigate the new school year.

NEW YORK - New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter laid out the plan Thursday for handling COVID cases and outbreaks within the public school system during the upcoming academic year.

NYC Schools would continue to follow the "successful" policies used during the Summer Rising program.

"This summer we had only two buildings close out of over 800 open," said Porter during Mayor Bill de Blasio's regular COVID briefing.

A school would close only if there was evidence of widespread, in-school transmission. The decision to close would be made by the Department of Education and Department of Health.

NYC school quarantine, closure plans

NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter explains the policy for closing a school due to COVID and plans for how students will quarantine if needed.

In the event of a confirmed COVID case in a classroom, the classroom would be closed and close contacts would be required to quarantine for 10 days. Fully vaccinated students would not be required to quarantine if they are asymptomatic. Vaccinated students would be encouraged to take a COVID test three to five days after known contact.

Unvaccinated middle and high school students could return to their classrooms after they provide proof of a negative test.

Fall COVID concerns

With the delta variant of the coronavirus surging and mask mandates returning, some fear we could see even more restrictions if the COVID stats don't turn around by the fall. Street Soldiers dives into those concerns.

"We are taking what we learned during the pandemic and leveraging that to accommodate our students," said Porter.

Every school would have 10% of its population tested for COVID twice a month. Only unvaccinated students in middle and high school would be subjected to testing and would have to quarantine if exposed.

CUNY students return to class

All CUNY students and staff will be required to wear a mask and get tested regularly if not vaccinated.

During a quarantine, elementary school students would have live, online instruction, full time. Middle and high school students would have access to remote learning.

The city has also expanded its at-home instruction program for medically fragile students to include individual, in-person instruction or individual or small group instruction through digital platforms.

"I know families have concerns about the safety of their babies and we are intent on making this process easy and accessible," said Porter.

The first day of classes was Sept. 13 and no remote learning option would be offered.

The city also published a guide for parents to help navigate the new school year which can be found online at this LINK.