Boston Public Radio Podcast

Speaking on Boston Public Radio Thursday, former Mass. education secretary Paul Reville expressed support for a proposal presented Tuesday by the Baker administration, effectively forcing elementary classrooms to reopen by April. "I do think it’s the right direction to go in,” he said, citing decreasing COVID-19 cases in the state, and increasing knowledge about how to conduct in-person learning safely. He acknowledged, though, that the process is likely to be "complicated and controversial.” During the announcement earlier this week, Education Commissioner Jeffery Riley said he plans to ask schools in March to give him authority to determine when hybrid and remote learning models no longer count towards state-mandated learning hours. He added that the goal is to bring elementary student back by April, followed by middle and high school students “later in the school year." "It is not a set mandate,” Reville explained, calling the proposal an “indirect route” to getting children back in classrooms. “The gov