Murphy said
during a news conference Monday on the COVID-19 outbreak that an executive
order he signed in August allowing schools to offer remote and hybrid learning
will expire at the end of the current school year.
The announcement ends the
governor’s previous order that allowed school districts to go virtual. Now
parents will no longer have the option to opt out of in-person learning
for their children.
The Hamilton Township School
District held a vaccine clinic Monday for its students in preparation for the
return to school in September. But vaccinations will not be mandatory for
students.
Meanwhile, the parents of some
students in New Jersey are speaking out against the governor's decision to no
longer offer virtual options for students.
The details aren't
clear in regard to immuno-compromised children or children with
disabilities. There are hundreds of parents
not comfortable sending their immune-compromised children, or children living
with disabilities, back to school.
"I want my
kids back in school,” says Cumberland County parent Michelle Serabian. “They
want to be back in school but since they're under 12, they can't be vaccinated
yet. “Our goal is to keep them remote until they're fully vaccinated. Sending
them back prior is short-sighted and negates all the sacrifices over the past
year to keep them home and safe."
Another concern
from these parents is if the siblings of their-immuno compromised children
attends school in person and happens to get infected with COVID-19, potentially
bringing the virus back home.
Murphy had clarified on News 12 New Jersey’s ‘Ask Gov.
Murphy’ that at-risk students and teachers would have a virtual option, but it
would be up to individual school districts to set that up.
AP wire services helped
contribute to this report.