New Mexico officials say schools can fully reopen April 5

SANTA FE - New Mexico schools can reopen fully by April 5, the Public Education Department and Department of Health announced Monday.

“We are phasing out what we’ve been calling ‘hybrid’ learning, although there will continue to be a fully remote option for those families who choose it,” said Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart in a news release.

Also on Monday, schools learned they can immediately begin offering New Mexico Activities Association-sponsored activities, including sports, and may resume other curricular and extracurricular activities such as band, choir and drama.

Districts and charter schools around the state will determine their start date and inform the PED. 

More:New Mexico debates longer school year mandate, virus make-up

PED says it is urging districts and schools to move quickly to get many more educators and students through school doors in the coming weeks. 

“While we know our communities need time to plan, we expect them to move quickly. As a state, our expectation is for all schools to be offering in-person learning for every family that wants it. You tell us your start date, but that start date should be soon,” Stewart said.

Most public schools around the state began hybrid learning last month and 52,200 of New Mexico’s 330,000 public school students — about 16 percent — are already attending in-person learning.

COVID-Safe practices will remain in place, including mask-wearing, frequent hand-washing, enhanced indoor air quality and social distancing.

Six-foot distancing will be encouraged to each school's best abilities as a "goal," but is not a requirement.

Stewart said in a news conference late Monday afternoon that this decision was a long time coming. New Mexico schools are approaching the one year mark of the closure of all school buildings last March.

"Our goal all along has been get our students with their teachers and to do it safe," Stewart said. "We've watched very carefully since the fall... We've made a lot of investments in the infrastructure and the right kinds of decisions to build the practices that keep our schools safe, so we could get to this point."

Stewart said PED will offer "every resource it has available" to help schools to meet the "April 5 deadline."

Teachers now in line to be vaccinated

The state also announced Monday it would expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations to all school teachers, early childhood educators and other staff with the goal of getting the group its first shots by the end of March.

“Our goal has always been to welcome students back to school as quickly and safely as possible. The statewide mobilization to vaccinate all school staff is a game-changer in creating increasingly safe working conditions and school environments for all,” Stewart said.

The state is making the move as part of a directive by the Biden administration to get more schools reopened amid the coronavirus pandemic. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said last week that the ability of New Mexico to meet the timeline will depend on the federal government increasing vaccine supplies.

"Moving forward, we're prioritizing the educators," Collins said during the news conference.

Educators with health concerns will be able to remain remote until two weeks after receiving their second dose of the vaccine before returning to in-person instruction.

Stewart said many families will want to remain online full-time and are allowed to do so. He suggested that some educators who want to remain online could coordinate with their district and teach the students who will remain remote or come to another agreement to accommodate the educator.

More:New Mexico health department increases COVID-19 vaccine supply to Doña Ana County

Collins said the state had been in discussions with the White House about how the directive would affect vaccinations for other groups. Under the latest plan, the state will start with educators outside of the Albuquerque area this week. Those in the metro area can get shots next week, likely at a mass vaccination site, and the final week will target all of those statewide who have yet to be vaccinated.

New Mexico currently has 50,864 K-12 school staff members — including classroom teachers, administrators, bus drivers and food handlers. 

More than 15,000 educators already have received shots, as some were eligible as part of New Mexico’s phased-in approach to distributing vaccinations. The focus until now has been on the most vulnerable populations, including those 75 and over and younger people with chronic health conditions that put them at greater risk.

Overall, more than 677,000 shots have been administered in New Mexico, ranking the state among the top in the U.S. when it comes to distribution. About 14.5% of the population is fully vaccinated and about one-quarter has received a first shot, according to state data.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/BackToSchoolNM.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Miranda Cyr, a Report for America corps member, can be reached at mcyr@lcsun-news.com or @mirandabcyr on Twitter. Show your support for the Report for America program at https://bit.ly/LCSNRFA.