New Jersey Schools to Reopen in September With Smaller Class Sizes

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey’s more than 2,500 public schools will open in September with smaller class sizes and a mix of remote and in-person instruction, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday at a Trenton news conference.

Schools should be ready to close if virus cases soar, Murphy said, adding that parents should “appreciate the fact that we’re predicting as best we can.” He said he “can’t fathom” a return to distance learning, but the scenario couldn’t be dismissed.

“I wouldn’t be spending a lot of money on a range of alternatives,” Murphy said of parents who may face abrupt school closings and the need for child care.

The state’s 1.5 million public and private school pupils met via video conferencing and other remote means for three months starting in March. The reopenings were announced as the state reported 13,060 testing-confirmed deaths and, with New York and Connecticut, demands self-quarantining from visitors from the hard-hit U.S. South and West.

School buses must be “properly cleaned on a daily basis,” Murphy said. Students will be expected to wear face coverings at all times, while reading circles and other close-contact activities will be suspended.

“Nothing should be left to the last minute,” Murphy said. “We fully expect that districts will share their preliminary plans at least one month” before classes begin.

“There will be hurdles to overcome in a short period of time,” he said. But he said he had confidence in the state’s guidelines.

New Jersey is well beyond its novel coronavirus peak, but a key measure of transmission -- the average number of people infected per known carrier -- is creeping upward toward 1, after Murphy on June 11 said the 0.62 rate was among the nation’s lowest. Anything higher than 1 means the pandemic is spreading.

The governor has said that opening schools safely is among the state’s toughest tasks, with health experts expecting cases to climb as New Jersey reopens. They project a broader surge in the latter part of the year.

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