NY Launches Coronavirus 'Report Card' For Schools

NEW YORK CITY — A new online dashboard will grade New York City schools on where the coronavirus stands among students, teachers and staff.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled the "COVID Report Card" on Tuesday and said it will give anxious parents and teachers necessary facts as schools across the state return.

"We’re going to have a COVID Report Card for every school in the state,” Cuomo said.

The information could be especially helpful in New York City, where officials plan an ambitious yet controversial return to classrooms on Sept. 21.

Cuomo said he'll sign an executive order requiring schools, local health departments and labs to send COVID-19 testing data to the state, which will compile and publish it daily on the COVID Report Card website.

The dashboard will show:

• Positive infections by date of students and staff by school and school district
• Whether a school, district — and their students and staff — are remote, in-person or under a hybrid plan
• Number of students and staff on site
• Percentage of on site students and staff who test positive
• Number of tests administered by the school, test type, lab used and lag time
• Date of last submission or an update

New York City schools will undergo random testing under the terms of an agreement between the city and educator unions.

Cuomo, in a response to a reporter's question, said it appeared the city's schools won't show many results until October when that agreement stipulates the tests will start. They still will show results from students and teachers who get tests on their own, he said.