BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Board of Education on Friday voted to give Education Commissioner Jeff Riley the emergency authority to reopen schools for in-person learning.
In an 8-3 vote, the board granted Riley the power to decide when hybrid and remote models will no longer count toward required student learning time hours.
Riley wants to initially bring elementary school students across the state back to class for full-time learning starting on April 1.
“We think now is the time to bring children back into school more robustly,” Riley told the board. “The medical community believes it and I think now is the time to make that call.”
Parents and medical professionals who attended the hearing implored the board to vote in favor of Riley.
“For almost a year, my children have not stepped foot in a classroom. This has to stop and it has to stop now,” Everett parent Zineb Namura said.
Dr. Jonathan Davis, Vice Chair of Pediatrics at Tufts University Hospital, added, “We really need to do this for their mental health, for their learning, and for their progress.”
Teachers and local school board officials argued that the decisions should be left up to them.
“I don’t trust the Baker administration to do this safely, and I again urge you not to give them this unbelievable power,” Somerville Education Union President Ramin Bridge said.
“It is easier if things were turned to the way they were last March…That’s not possible for everyone yet,” said Theresa English, a teacher at Lawrence High School.
Middle and high school students would be brought back to class at dates yet to be determined, according to Riley’s plan.
Riley noted that he is open to granting waivers to districts that need to follow a phased-in approach to returning to full-time, in-person learning.
Parents and guardians will be given the option for the rest of this school year to select a remote learning model for their children, and learning hours will still continue to count.
Riley said the plan is to have students across all grade levels back in class on a full-time basis come the fall.
As of last month, nearly 80 percent of Bay State school districts were providing at least some in-person instruction to students through an in-person or hybrid model.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden told states to prioritize vaccinating all teachers during the month of March.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7News for updates online and on-air.
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