Rachel Silberstein is reporting for the Times Union Governor Andrew M. Cuomo says schools can open this fall. Speaking to reporters late August 7, the governor said the infection rate is low enough to allow all districts in the state to resume classroom instruction for the coming school year. New York's public school districts, charter schools and private schools submitted individual reopening plans to the state last month. Cuomo said school districts must hold three virtual parent forums to discuss the reopening plans before August 24. "Parents must have the opportunity to be heard and the school should welcome the opportunity to explain the plan," he said. Schools around the state were closed in March as the coronavirus exploded in New York, and students finished the last three months of the 2019-2020 school year doing remote studies. Cuomo has requested that school districts provide specific details about COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and what remote learning would look like. Schools should focus on how they will address equity and access issues that emerged in the spring. Most school districts are doing temperature screenings at the door, but Cuomo noted the screenings would not detect asymptomatic spread, so school districts should have a mechanism for COVID-19 tests, including whether it is done at school or local agencies. Read the full story in the Times Union.