Representative Adriano Espaillat and New York City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine Announce 10-Point Back to School Plan to Reaffirm Support of Students and Families

NEW YORK, NY — Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and New York City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine released the following joint 10-point proposal urging greater support of parents and protections for New York City students as the 2021-2022 school year begins.

The leaders sent a letter to New York City Department of Education Chancellor Meisha Porter outlining the plan and will hold a virtual press conference today at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) to discuss the urgency behind their initiative to ensure families are supported as students return to the classroom this fall.

“As students and their families prepare to return to school this fall, it is more critical than ever that we ensure they are fully supported. Last year was undoubtedly stressful as schools transitioned to virtual learning and hybrid models, and many underlying disparities in the educational system were brought to the surface and could no longer be denied,” said Rep. Espaillat. “From broadband access to food insecurity, our students faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic and many of these challenges continue still today. If there was ever a time for true educational reform, that time is now. As students return to the classroom, it is our responsibility as public servants to ensure they have adequate resources, address the gaps in learning brought on by the disruption, and ensure that no student falls behinds. I look forward to continuing my efforts to work with local and federal leaders, educators and administrators to provide greater support and resources for families as students return to the classroom this fall.”

Espaillat, a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, joined his Democratic colleagues earlier this year to pass the historic American Rescue Plan to provide economic recovery amid the COVID-19 and last month joined New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce the NYC Academic Recovery Plan to help students make up learning disruptions brought on by the pandemic, which was funded in large part by federal relief with additional funding from the New York City Council. The plan includes six components: improving early literacy, increasing digital access, college and career counseling, bolstering special education programs, building a new universal curriculum and expanding emotional support.

Rep. Espaillat and Councilman Levine were joined by city leaders during a virtual town hall this week with Chancellor Porter as the forum's special guest, to provide parents the opportunity to hear firsthand the plans and protocols in place to help keep New York City students safe as classrooms resume to in-person learning later this month.

Additionally, Espaillat joined New York City congressional colleagues, Reps. Grace Meng (NY-06) and Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (NY-16), in a published opinion piece urging that NYC parents be provided a choice to have remote learning as an option for the upcoming school year.

Rep. Espaillat and Councilman Levine’s 10-point plan is a continuation of their support at the federal and local levels to reaffirm their commitments to ensure students and families are supported during this critical 2021-2022 academic year, and includes the following tenets:

1. Reduce class size to ensure social distancing is maintained;

2. Require robust reinforcement of a universal mask mandate in New York City schools;

3. Stagger timing of groups of students for lunch and other periods where students gather en-masse, such as during recess and physical education;

4. Ensure a minimum of one certified nurse on campus at every school, and daily temperature checks for all school staff;

5. Mandate weekly COVID-19 testing for all persons;

6. Provide families with rapid self-testing kits that can be used when children are symptomatic and required to quarantine to allow a quicker return to class with a negative test;

7. Ensure availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for students (with parental permission), in all middle and high schools.

8. Make before and after school care and daycare services available to allow parents to successfully return to work;

9. Increase available tutors, educational support, and technology resources such as laptops to allow students to catch up from the gap year in learning;

10. Implement a review advisory board or taskforce for families facing challenges preventing them from sending their student(s) to school in-person to determine their eligibility to return to virtual learning, following a letter of recommendation from their family general practitioner or pediatrician.

Read the letter from Congressman Espaillat and Councilman Levine to New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter in its entirety.

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