Boston Schools to Start Remotely September 21, Hybrid Phases Begin in October

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6467 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston will start its 2020-21 school year fully remote on September 21, with optional hybrid learning phasing in through November under a plan tied to a 4 percent citywide COVID-19 positive test rate threshold. Mayor Marty Walsh announced the framework alongside Superintendent Brenda Casillas and Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang, with each of the five hybrid phases — beginning with highest-needs students on October 1 and reaching high schoolers no sooner than November 16 — made optional for all families. Walsh confirmed the 4 percent threshold for pulling back any phase, one point below the CDC's 5 percent benchmark, saying "we won't be in school if we're at four percent citywide." Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez disclosed that East Boston's current positive test rate is approximately 7.9 percent, well above the citywide average of 2.8 percent, and said the city has no neighborhood-specific carve-out policy yet but is "doubling down" on testing and outreach there.

The Boston Resiliency Fund has distributed more than $25 million to nonprofits since the start of the pandemic, including $1.2 million in the most recent week alone.

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Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6467 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.