NY cancels January Regents exams as COVID cases surge
New York students won’t take Regents exams this January. New York education Commissioner Betty Rosa canceled the winter tests on Tuesday, citing a “daunting” spike in coronavirus cases across the state. No decisions have been made yet regarding the June and August exams, which far more students take. Officials previously said they planned to move […]
Amid omicron surge, NYC schools prepare to reopen after winter break
New York City teachers and students prepared to return from winter break Monday to schools with ramped up testing and other measures designed to contain the spread of the surging omicron variant. The reopening of the country’s largest school district was greeted with apprehension among some parents and teachers unnerved by a surge in cases […]
NYC school COVID testing is falling short, some educators say
As city officials investigated whether a slew of positive COVID cases should close down Millennium Brooklyn High School, science teacher Mike Stivers tried to get swabbed on Tuesday during the school’s weekly testing visit. Stivers and other teachers were turned away. They hadn’t filled out the newly required consent forms three days earlier — before […]
Special education tuition hearings shift to NYC trials agency to address backlog
From Chalkbeat December: The de Blasio administration is transferring oversight of a backlogged special education complaint system — where filings typically take months or years to resolve — from the education department to a city entity that operates administrative trials. The shift was codified earlier this month in a memorandum of understanding between the city […]
Albany 101: Here are the big NYC education issues to watch in the new legislative session
When New York state’s legislative session begins this month, don’t expect to see the familiar rallies of advocates, union leaders and lawmakers pressing the governor to boost money for schools. That’s because state lawmakers passed a budget last session that, for the first time, committed to fully cover Foundation Aid, the formula that provides the […]
Porter to step down as NYC school chancellor, clearing the way for Adams to make his pick
Meisha Porter will step down as New York City schools chancellor when Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure comes to a close at the end of the year, she announced Wednesday morning. Porter, who rose up through the ranks of city schools, stepped in to lead the nation’s largest school system in March following the sudden […]
NYC schools to allow on-site COVID tests for teachers once again
With children ages 5 to 11 getting vaccinated, New York City schools may soon see a drop in the number of students participating in their on-site weekly COVID testing program since the program is only supposed to test unvaccinated students. But the swabs might not go unused. The city’s education department plans to change its […]
NYC expands translation of special education plans, but onus still on parents with limited English to request it
Parents of students with disabilities who don’t speak English have long struggled to get their children’s learning plans translated into their native language, a crucial barrier to advocating for extra help or ensuring they are receiving the correct services. Officials are now taking more significant steps to address the issue. Last school year, the education […]
