On September 8, 2020, New York State's Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the launching of New York State's "COVID-19 Report Card",* an Internet Web Site which will track real-time COVID-19 infections and testing operations of every New York school and school district.**
The Governor issued an Executive Order directing schools, local health departments, labs and all testing sites properly collect and report COVID-19 testing data for students and staff at each school in New York State, ensuring this information can be accurately presented on the online COVID-19 Report Card.
The Governor issued an Executive Order directing schools, local health departments, labs and all testing sites properly collect and report COVID-19 testing data for students and staff at each school in New York State, ensuring this information can be accurately presented on the online COVID-19 Report Card.
COVID-19 report card data includes: positive cases by date of students and staff; number of students and staff on-site; percentage of on-site positive cases; number of tests administered by school, test type, lab used and lag time; date of last submission and update.
As schools reopen and districts, local health departments, and labs will begin reporting this data to the NYS Dept. of Health, the COVID-19 Report Card, which is designed to provide parents, teachers, students with comprehensive data updated on a daily basis and includes such data as:
Positive infections by date of students and staff by school and school district;
Whether a school or a school district, and its student and staff, are in a remote, in-person, or hybrid learning mode;
The number of students and staff on-site;
The percentage of on-site students and staff who test positive;
The number of COVID-19 tests administered by the school, test type, lab used and lag time; and
The date of the last submission or update.
Visitors to the website simply type in their home address to identify their school district, select their specific school, and all reported positives, a breakdown of testing and results for students and teachers and the current enrollment will be displayed. The "Dashboard" will feature 7-day trend charts so visitors can track results over time.
* New York school districts will be providing the Department of Health with information on the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and other COVID-19 related data daily. Once the reporting starts, the COVID-19 Report Card will be activated and relevant material posted on the Internet at https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/.
** See, also, Chapter 168 of the Law of 2020, "An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease; and to amend the education law, in relation to certain protocols for responding to a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease." The act requires all public employers, i.e., the State and political subdivisions of the State including school districts, to create plans to adequately protect workers in the event of another state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease. Plans must be submitted to unions and labor management committees within 150 days, and plans need to be finalized on or before April 1, 2021.