Gov. Phil Murphy pushed schools to reopen to in-person instruction Wednesday in a move that could undercut a key Republican attack line as he prepares to seek re-election.
“Now is the time for all of our schools to meaningfully move forward with a return to in-person instruction, whether it be fulltime or through a hybrid schedule,” he said at the day’s virus briefing.
Schools around the state have been operating with varying levels of in-person instruction for months. As of Wednesday, 142 school districts were conducting all classes in-person, while 98 were all-remote and 534 used some hybrid system. Another 37 districts used some combination of the three across various sites.
Murphy hopes to have the state’s schools all back to in-person instruction for the next school year.
“Come September, it is our complete expectation that every school will be open and every student and educator will be safely in their classrooms for fulltime in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 academic year,” he said.
Democrats view remote schooling as a major vulnerability at the polls this year, when the governor and every member of the legislature will come up for a vote.
Earlier Wednesday, Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Jack Ciattarelli launched two television ads, the first of his campaign. One hit Murphy for “refusing to open our schools.”
But while the majority party views schools as something of a touchy subject, there’s a belief among some that voters will be willing to write off the 2020-2021 school year to the pandemic so long as regular schooling returns in the fall, when voters are paying attention to campaigns in full swing.
The Democratic reception to Murphy’s announcement was warm, at least from Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark).
“I am encouraged to see the Governor setting the stage for the next phase of the return to the classroom, with a uniform call for all students to have some form of in-person instruction before the end of the school year,” she said. “As we prepare for full-time in-person instruction in the fall, I hope that the administration begins to address the issue of learning loss and seek ways to ensure all students are supported for a stronger start to the next academic year.”