State to Permit Remote-Only Learning in the Fall: On Monday, Governor Phil Murphy announced that the state Department of Education will be issuing new guidance this week that will give parents the option to select all-online classes for their kids this fall.
“There are a lot of moving parts with this,” Murphy said. “We want to get it right, we want to do it responsibly. We want to respect public health but we also want to do everything we can to recapture that magic of some semblance of in-person education that no state does like New Jersey.”
Teachers Union President – “...it’s Not Possible to Open Schools in September”: In an exclusive interview with The Record, Northjersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey, Marie Blistan, President of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) said that the state’s nearly 3,000 public school don’t have enough time to pull together a complicated web of health, academic, transportation and scheduling protocols to guarantee the safety on students teachers and staff from COVID-19.
“We are in a very tight time frame,” said Blistan. “If we are looking to have schools open on the regular calendar, that’s not possible.”
Giants, Jets and Rutgers to Play without Fans: The New York Giants and New York Jets announced in a joint statement that they will play games at MetLife Stadium without fans in accordance with Governor Murphy’s executive order limiting outdoor gatherings. Rutgers also announced that the University will not have fans in attendance at games this fall.
The teams said they supported the Governor’s decision, saying the health and safety of fans, players and staff was their primary focus. The teams also said their 2020 training camps and practices will not be open to the public.
High-Risk Sports Resume: Starting today, contact drills, practices, and competitions may resume for high-risk sports including football, rugby, boxing, martial arts, wrestling, cheerleading and others. These sports can be practiced/played at outdoor venues only and will include mandatory screening, limited equipment sharing, and strong disinfection/sanitization requirements, as per the New Jersey Department of Health.
Revenue Collections Continue Downward Trend: The New Jersey Department of Treasury has reported that the state’s revenue collection continues on a downward trajectory. In the month of June, revenues were down $503 million, or 14.7% from there they were on June 2019. Earlier this month, the Treasury Department reported that for the entire fiscal year, revenues were down $3 billion, or 9.2%.
New Information Collected on Out-of-State Visitors: This week, the state is launching a system to collect information from travelers arriving at New Jersey airports from the 22 states on the voluntary travel quarantine list. Travelers from these states will be directed how to connect to an electronic survey that will collect information about their point of origin as well as their destination within the state. Information collected will be shared with county health departments, who will then contact the traveler to remind them about the need to quarantine for 14 days, and where to go to be tested for the virus.
The affected states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. The advisory applies to New Jersey residents returning home from one of those locations.
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