White text on a blue background reads Reopening 2020

New York State school districts can follow plans to reopen for in-person education in September if coronavirus infection rates stay at 5% or lower in a given region, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday, July 13.

In a briefing, the governor described a statewide “red light/green light” system and said that determinations will be made by region about opening and closing schools as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. By Aug. 1, if a region is in Phase 4 and has a daily infection rate of 5% or lower over a 14-day average, that region could receive a “green light” for schools to return to in-person schooling in September. If daily infection rates exceed 9% over a seven-day average, however, schools in that region would not reopen. Similarly, should a region see such an average after reopening, schools in that region would also be directed to close.

The Arkport Central School District is working to create a reopening plan for the fall with available guidance from public health and education agencies. Pertinent information will be shared on this page.

Also on Monday, preliminary guidance from the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and interim guidance from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) were released, outlining what will be required in the individual school-level reopening plans. 

School districts across the state must develop reopening plans and submit them to the state by July 31. Plans must also be posted to district websites.