NYC delays start of school year to allow more prep time

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is delaying sending students back to classrooms in the nation’s largest public school system next month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

De Blasio said in-class school instruction will be delayed by 11 days to allow extra prep time for teachers.

The development comes after de Blasio emphasized for months that the city’s 1.1 million public school students need schools to resume in-person instruction this fall after the coronavirus abruptly forced a thorny plunge into remote learning in March.

Even as other big U.S. school systems — including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Houston — decided to start the school year with students learning remotely, de Blasio stuck with a plan for a Sept. 10 hybrid reopening that was intended to feature as much classroom time as possible while still allowing for social distancing.