See How New York City COVID-19 School Reopening Looked in fall 2020

In this video before New York City schools returned to in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in fall 2020, Alison Morris, an attorney at the Cuddy Law Firm, discussed the school reopening plans.

She said most schools would offer the option for students to attend in person on some days, between one and three days a week, and learn online during the other days.

These were the most common configurations:

• Two groups of students attending in-person classes on rotating days
• Using a similar alternating schedule, but with three groups of students swapping which days they attend
• Three groups on alternate days, but on a six-day cycle (middle and high school)

Families had the option to keep their children in full remote learning. And when children returned to school buildings, these kinds of pandemic safety rules were in place:

• Temperature checks showing no higher than 100 degrees
• 9-12 students per classroom
• Six feet of distance between students
• Lunch in classrooms instead of cafeterias or gyms
• Face masks required
• Regular coronavirus testing for teachers and staff

Morris is a special needs advocacy and litigation attorney and a special needs planning attorney.

She said students receiving special education services, with Individualized Education Programs (IEP), had priority for in-person learning, each school’s model for in-person and remote learning would differ.

Morris advised parents to ask their schools about their children’s IEPs to make sure they’re getting the instruction they need. And she said parents need work with schools and be understanding of the unusual situation—but don’t accept a school failing to provide services to students with special needs.

For more information on school reopening plans, and to hear Morris take questions from parents navigating school issues during COVID-19, watch the video.