Districts were previously requested to submit their reopening plans by July 31, a week before Cuomo announced all districts would be able to reopen for in-person learning.
"For those 107 school districts, how they didn't submit a plan is beyond me," says Cuomo. "The main arbiter here of whether a school district has an intelligent plan to reopen and whether people have confidence in that district's plan: It's going to be the parents and it's going to be the teachers, and that requires discussion, and that's going to be a dialogue."
But in the wake of the list release, several districts questioned how they ended up on the list in the first place, saying they did submit plans.
At least 15 of the 27 Long Island districts on the list are claiming their naming by Cuomo was a mistake, and someone even said they have submission receipts to prove it.
When the governor's office was asked if the list had any issues, a senior advisor doubled down and said, "The list of districts that didn't file a plan with the state Department of Health is accurate. Despite clear guidance provided to these schools, which included a link to the DOH portal, some districts in follow-up calls said they filed with the State Education Department - which is not an executive agency - but didn't file with DOH. Others filled out an affirmation certifying that they would be abiding by the state's reopening guidance, but didn't actually submit their plan, something many of these districts are now rectifying."
In terms of districts that have supplied plans, districts that are found to be out of compliance were due to get a letter from the state Department of Health Monday naming the sections of their plans that are deficient. Those districts will have until Friday to amend their plan.
Here is the full list of districts that have not submitted reopening plans, according to Gov. Cuomo's office (LI districts listed first):