Mayor Bill de Blasio on Nov. 29 announced a phased-in reopening plan starting the week of Dec. 7 that will allow elementary school and District 75 students to resume in-person instruction in parts of the city where transmission rates remain low. School buildings will reopen with new, more stringent testing in place.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew released the following statement in response:

"While schools in the city’s high-impact red and orange coronavirus zones will continue to abide by the state’s 3 percent closing rules, we are supportive of a phased reopening of schools in other neighborhoods as long as stringent testing is in place. This strategy — properly implemented — will allow us to offer safe in-person instruction to the maximum number of students until we beat the pandemic."