Board of Regents task force holds meetings to discuss possibility of reopening NY schools

On Wednesday, the New York State Board of Regents and state Department of Education held virtual task force meetings to address the possibility of reopening schools in the fall.

News 12 Staff

Jun 24, 2020, 6:40 PM

Updated 1,565 days ago

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No one can say for sure what education will look like come the fall - will kids be back in school, or will remote learning continue? A group is trying to plan for the possibility of students returning to their classrooms.
On Wednesday, the New York State Board of Regents and state Department of Education held virtual task force meetings to address the possibility of reopening schools in the fall.
Roger Tilles is Long Island's representative on the board.
"I think what will happen is the governor will tell us whether we should go back to school or not," says Tilles. "The regents will have to come up with or try to come up with plans for every school district to have certain parameters, but then it's going to be up to each individual district as to how they do it."
But regardless of what happens, districts also have to plan for a possible second wave.
In Rockville Centre, Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Johnson says they are taking what they know were the best practices possible.
"What we needed to train teachers on, what were the best platforms, what is the best environment for these kids, what works effectively and what doesn't, and incorporating that into a model which I believe will be a more effective model should we have to go back to remote learning again sometime next year," says Johnson.
Districts across the state have been asked to submit plans by July 15 detailing how they would handle each of the scenarios -- returning to school, distance learning or a mix of both.