By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Local school districts have “greater flexibility” to ensure they can meet the needs of parents who want their children taught remotely. That flexibility, however, doesn’t mean the remote learning students will get a break; they’ll have the same school days, just at home.
Kevin Dehmer, the state’s interim commissioner of the Department of Education, and Dr. Zakiya Smith-Ellis, former secretary of Higher Education, now chief policy advisor to the governor, talked about that flexibility Friday during Gov. Phil Murphy’s COVID-19 press conference.
Dehmer and Smith-Ellis said the Department of Education’s policies about students’ return to school in September have continued to evolve over the summer as conditions have changed and as they listened to stakeholders throughout the state.
“We heard what parents and school leaders had to say,” Dehmer said.
The initial guidance from the state was to open New Jersey’s schools “in some capacity” for in-person instruction and the evolving guidance given to districts are the minimal standards for schools reopening that allow parents to choose where they want their children educated.
“All students are eligible for full-time remote learning if parents or guardians so chooses,” Dehmer said. “This includes students receiving special education or related services.”
He added that districts have to establish procedures for full-time remote learning.
They also have to have procedures for those students to transition back to in-classroom learning “so families can make necessary arrangements to prepare for the transition and help schools maintain continuity of services.”
Schools have to “communicate frequently” to parents about their options.
A key to remote learning is that those students “must receive the same quality of instruction as provided to any other students. Full-time remote learning must adhere to the same policies that in-person and hybrid programs follow when it comes to attendance and length of school day.”
So the state can evaluate full-time remote learning, school districts will have to report data back to the education department about student participation in these programs, Dehmer said.
“We understand this school year will be unlike any that educators, families or students have experienced before,” he said. “We also understand it will require flexibility, foresight and planning for school districts to be responsive to the needs of their families and communities.
Smith-Ellis said policies evolve because they are in “constant communication” with the stakeholders in New Jersey, the state Department of Health and trends with COVID-19 rates.
“We appreciate this is a frustrating and new time for everyone in dealing with this but we are responding in real time so … as we get updated information we are updating our guidance,” she said. “This is an example of us being responsive to the concerns we heard from families and this gives families the option to choose what they believe is best for their child. I’m thankful for the Department of Education for pulling this together.”
Murphy added, “This isn’t going to be a normal school year. This is really hard. It is hard for kids, educators, parents – for all of us – so regardless of where we or a local district comes out it’s going to be a challenge for everyone. So let’s acknowledge that up front.”
Since the state’s initial guidance about reopening came out a month earlier, different things have happened in the state in positive and negative ways, he said, which is why there needs to be flexibility.
“We can’t predict .. what the virus will look like six weeks from now,” Murphy said, explaining the state has to act “based on the facts and where we think the facts are going.”
The second aspect is that the state has “found the money” to provide universal devices and internet access “for every single kid going to school in this state,” which it could not do a month earlier. Because all students will be able to access education remotely, the state can now say that is universally available.
“It’s now up to the districts to fold that new flexibility into their plans,” Murphy said.
Dehmer said the Department of Education estimated there were 230,000 students in New Jersey who didn’t have the technology to be educated remotely. The funding is from the federal CARES Act.
The guiding principles for the state’s education policies, Murphy said, are the health and safety of children, their families, educators and staff members; the best way to educate the state’s students; and equity. Some families depend more heavily on in-person learning, not everyone has space in their homes or high-speed internet, not everyone can go out and hire a tutor and everyone can’t stay home, Murphy said.
“Not everybody is in the same spot,” he said. “Our plans have to accommodate all of that.”
On Monday, July 27, the governor noted with the option for remote learning, experts still favor in-person learning.
“Every education expert we spoken to over the past few months has confirmed in-person education is critical,” Murphy said. “Remote learning is only an acceptable substitute when absolutely necessary. If done safely, I believe we must try to include at least some aspect of in-person education for our children this fall.
