TRENTON, NJ – We’re all in this together, but that doesn’t mean the administration of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is going to make anything easy, especially when it comes to returning to school in September. With just more than two weeks to go before most districts return to school, Governor Murphy today announced that the Department of Education has bounced back-to-school plans from 389 out of 745 districts back for review.
“As of today there have been 745 total plans submitted to the Department of Education,” Murphy said on Monday. “You may wonder why so many plans, remember these include not just the public school districts but private and religious schools as well. 251 of these have been deemed completed. Another 389 have been reviewed by the department of education and returned to districts for necessary revisions and 105 are awaiting review.”
Murphy promised that a quick review would be conducted when those districts resubmit their plans for review in the future, to ensure they have the proper guidance in time for schools to reopen.
“Murphy said a majority of reviews completed show a current total of 436 reopening plans that envision a hybrid model of both in-person and remote learning. Only 59 districts plan to reopen to all in-person learning and a current total of 180 plan to begin their school years in an all remote fashion.
“As we approach the start of the academic year we are grateful to district leaders educators parents and stakeholders for working together in whichever district they live to come to the right decision for their specific community,” Murphy said. “This kind of partnership is what has made our state schools among the very best in the entire country and it’s how we’re going to stay stay there even in a school year that will open unlike any other before.”
Photo by Austin Pacheco on Unsplash