NYC plans to end school-based COVID testing program this fall, source says
New York City is planning to end its program to administer weekly coronavirus tests to a random sample of students, Chalkbeat has learned, removing one of the last standing campus COVID safety measures. The decision to discontinue on-site PCR testing after summer school ends was communicated internally last month, a source with knowledge of the […]
NYC ends mask mandate for children in preschools, daycares
Masks will be optional for New York City children under 5 in preschool and daycare programs starting June 13 as COVID rates have begun to drop, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday. The announcement comes several months after Adams lifted the mask mandate for public school students, a decision he stuck by even as COVID rates […]
NYC schools to give students weekly at-home COVID tests as cases rise
From Chalkbeat: New York City schools are now providing four at-home COVID testing kits to all students each week and asking families to use them on a regular basis, according to an education department letter sent to families on Wednesday. The new policy comes as students have returned from spring break, and “cases are on […]
New York City plans to drop its mask mandate for its youngest students on April 4, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday, as long as COVID cases remain low.
With children under the age of 5 the only age group still required to mask in school, many of their parents have relentlessly pressed Adams on the issue as he has traveled around the city in recent days. “We want to see our babies’ faces,” Adams said at a press conference at City Hall insisting […]
NYC schools Chancellor David Banks outlines fixes for ‘broken’ education department
In his first major policy speech to education department brass, New York City schools Chancellor David Banks offered sharp criticism of the system he inherited. His Wednesday address acknowledged sharp enrollment declines, lingering concerns over school safety both from violence and from COVID, and, three school years into the pandemic, a battered trust among families […]
The NYPD is sending ‘youth coordination officers’ to schools. Who are they?
From Chalkbeat: Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a fairly new kind of cop would be sent to city schools following a spate of violent incidents, including five guns allegedly recovered from students within a week. The NYPD initially rolled out the “Youth Coordination Officers” program in 2020, with an early target of moving […]
Settlement to give Black and Latino students more access to NYC high school sports teams
From Chalkbeat: New York City will expand access to sports teams in the wake of a lawsuit that claimed Black and Latino students were systematically denied access to the same athletic opportunities as students of other races. Under a preliminary settlement agreement announced Wednesday, the education department will group certain nearby high schools so they […]
Just 35% of eligible NYC students have consented to coronavirus testing so far
The effectiveness of New York City’s school-based COVID testing program came under scrutiny on Wednesday when education department officials for the first time disclosed the number of students who consented to participate: just over a third of those who are eligible. In total, 192,705 students have submitted consent for the random testing program, First Deputy […]
