As Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to push for all school buildings to reopen in just two weeks amid mounting opposition from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and medical professionals, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams introduced legislation today to improve remote learning procedures and provide an emergency food plan for students.
The Public Advocate-- who previously released a plan that called for all schools to remain remote through at least October-- joined Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Council's Committee on Education, to introduce legislation that would require the Department of Education to report weekly on remote learning attendance. That reporting would be disaggregated by school, grade, race, individualized education plan status and other factors, and would help the city to find and focus on areas where remote learning may not be executed effectively, providing resources to students and schools in the most need.
This bill, Intro 2058, comes after City Council hearings this spring revealed that the Department of Education did not have adequate or accurate data on remote learning participation, and after reports that the NYC Administration for Children's Services (ACS) was investigating some families after students failed to join remote learning due to lack of resources.
Under the city's current hybrid learning plan, all students will be engaged in some level of remote learning, and a significant portion will be entirely remote to begin the school year. Public Advocate Williams has continued to advocate for a plan which delays any in-person education until at least October, then phase in in-person education in coordination with extensive school safety measures.
Public Advocate Williams also introduced legislation, Intro 2057, which would require the Mayor's Office of Food Policy and the Department of Education to develop a student food plan to be used when schools are ordered to be closed or when any form of remote learning is utilized. Many students throughout New York City rely on the school system for access to consistent nutritious meals. This bill would ensure that in the event of an emergency or public health crisis that shutters schools, students will still be able to receive the meals they would normally receive in school and thus ensure their food security.
The plan would include a description of how the City will provide students with access to breakfast, lunch, and dinner; how and to what extent the City will distribute information to the public about the availability of food; criteria for how food distribution points are identified; a mechanism to ensure that all public communications, written or otherwise are available in the most commonly spoken languages of affected communities; and other elements.
These two pieces of legislation are timely and critical as the Mayor pushes for a blended learning system to reopen schools on September 10. Improved remote learning and food security plans are essential as many students opting to learn fully remotely, or in the event of impending school closures should further COVID-19 outbreaks occur in classrooms.
In announcing the legislation, Public Advocate Williams said, "Whether the Mayor moves forward with his misguided plan to re-open school buildings on September 10 or not, much of the coming school year is likely to be remote. As we saw this past spring, remote learning has great potential but also highlights the need for many reforms and systems in place to make it more effective. These bills will help ensure that students and families get the education and resources they need amid the ongoing pandemic."
"COVID-19 has impacted every single person in this city, but its impacts have not been evenly felt. Inequities in remote learning mirror inequities in the spread of COVID-19. In order to know how much support is needed for our students and educators, we need data that illustrates the gaps. Additional specific data on remote learning participation is the only effective way to acknowledge the problem and allocate resources where necessary to eliminate gaps of inequity," said Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education. "We need to ensure that every student is receiving a high-quality education, whether in-person or remote, so that vulnerable student populations are not left behind."
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