On Monday, Governor Murphy announced he is ending the executive order from last spring, which allowed schools to function remotely or hybrid for this school year. Starting with the new 2021-2022 school year in the fall, all schools will be required to return to full-time, in-person instruction.
While only a few school districts in the state are still fully remote, many only recently returned to a hybrid model, but come fall, that will have to change.
“We are facing a much different world than one year ago when we had to begin planning for this school year,” said Murphy in his press conference. “We know much more about this virus and how it spreads. We have much more on-the-ground experience in fighting it. And we have a robust vaccination program that now reaches adolescents as young as 12. As time moves forward we will gain more knowledge and more tools.”
The full-time remote learning option for families will be removed as well, added Murphy. While many parents opted their kids out to stay home and learn remotely, they won’t have that option in the fall. Parents will still be able to opt to homeschool their kids, but it will be in the traditional manner and not function the way it did this year with schools providing a remote learning option.
Murphy added that this does not affect plans for summer school programs, which function separately.
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