Murphy says schools should offer all-remote option, N.J. won't mandate one plan

TRENTON, N.J. - Gov. Phil Murphy says new guidance has been released by the state's Department of Education, and the state will not be mandating just one way forward for reopening schools this Fall.

Murphy said the guidance makes "make clear that giving the parents the option of choosing all-remote learning for their children for the upcoming school year should be allowed by school districts as part of their reopening plans."

Murphy said their top priority is keeping students, their families and educators safe, and flexibility, local decision making and empowering parents and educators are all critical to do that.

The governor went on to say that, with today's guidance, the Garden State is "providing districts with even greater flexibility to ensure that they can meet this need. We’re not mandating any one specific way to move forward."

"The scheduled start of the new school year is still roughly six weeks away," Murphy added on Twitter. "We will continue to closely follow the public health data as we progress through the rest of this month and into August. We will continue to assess the realities of this virus on-the-ground, and how they may impact schools’ plans broadly. We will make changes in real time if needed."

The New Jersey Department of Education soon released links to its updated "The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education," which includes a "Clarifying Expectations Regarding Fulltime Remote Learning Options for Families in 2020-2021" document.

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