The New York State Department of Health has released updated reopening guidance for school districts.

The new guidance issued Friday falls in line with updated guidelines previously released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It reduces social distancing to a minimum of 3 feet instead of 6.

You can find more information about these changes here.

Senator Pamela Helming released a statement on the updated guidance:

"Under cover of darkness, it appears the New York State Department of Health has updated school reopening guidance to align with the CDC’s recommendation of 3 feet of distance in the classroom. The guidance also allows for 6 feet of distance for music and the arts. I have requested an official communication from the Department of Health on this updated guidance, which can be found here (see pages 7-9): We should always be doing what’s best for our young people. Students, families and schools have been waiting more than a month for this guidance. I am hopeful schools can now move forward in getting students back in the classroom full time."

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallott areleased a statement on the revised guidance:

“As educators, we know that the best place for our students to learn is in person in the classroom. What we’ve wanted from the very beginning of the school reopening process is for that to happen in the safest possible environment.

“In adopting new physical distancing guidelines in line with CDC recommendations, the state is making it crystal clear that distancing is only one part of a layered mitigation strategy. These revised guidelines not only draw distinctions between when it’s appropriate to have three feet of distancing and when six feet of distancing is still necessary, they also mandate masks at all times and lay out specific ventilation recommendations while maintaining important provisions for cleaning, hygiene and contact tracing. What’s more, the guidelines are clear that community transmission — with a majority of New York counties currently at high levels of transmission, per CDC metrics — is a critical factor in how physical distancing changes are implemented. And before districts make changes, school communities, including parents and educators, must be given an opportunity to provide input on updates to reopening plans. That has always been and must continue to be essential to the reopening process.

“There also is more to be done to strengthen safety protocols. While the state recommends that districts ‘strongly consider’ implementing screening testing, we believe there is zero excuse for all districts not to implement routine testing as soon as possible. The federal government is making hundreds of millions of dollars available to New York schools explicitly for this purpose. It’s long past time to get this done.

“Ultimately, if changes to local reopening plans are made, it’s up to local departments of health to enforce state required guidelines. They must do so expeditiously and ensure no district is lax in sticking to a layered mitigation strategy.”