New York City delays start of in-person classes in deal to avoid teachers strike

New York City schools are set to begin in-person classes a bit later than expected.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced on Tuesday that as part of a deal to avoid a potential teachers strike, the start of in-person classes in the nation's largest school district will be delayed ten days to Sept. 21, The New York Times reports. This delay, the mayor said, will allow for more time "for our educators and staff to get ready under these unprecedented circumstances."

The United Federation of Teachers had previously threatened a possible strike as educators called for more time before the reopening of schools, with the teachers union's president, Michael Mulgrew, recently saying, per The Wall Street Journal, "We'll know shortly over the next couple of days if we're going to have a major war, even a bigger war, with the city of New York. Or if we can actually get to the hard work of preparing each one of our schools to open in a way that is safe."

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There will be a "three-day transitional period" beginning on Sept. 16, de Blasio said on Tuesday, during which remote instruction will begin. When classes resume in person, New York City schools will be following a blended learning plan with not all students being in school in person on the same days. Mulgrew expressed approval of the agreement on Tuesday, saying that "we can now say that New York City's public school system has the most aggressive policies and greatest safeguards of any school system in the United States of America."