It is impossible to overstate the intensity or complexity of the challenges we have all faced these past few months. Last spring, the arrival of COVID-19 pandemic caused great harm and enormous disruption to our community – we made it through the semester because of you extraordinary resilience, generosity, and determination. I want to thank all of you – and our amazing faculty and staff – for not letting this plague derail our continuation of your work towards becoming lawyers. I think all of us had hoped for a different fall, but we find ourselves still organizing our activities around the complex and evolving path of the pandemic.
In the midst of this health crisis the stark reality of another pandemic came into sharp focus in the videos of the unspeakable police murders, inescapable exemplars of the systemic racism embodied in police brutality against Black communities. All this at the same time that the curtain was pulled open exposing the stark inequities in our society demonstrated by the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black, Latinx, immigrant, and low-income communities.
Now, more than ever, we need to make sure we support you on your path to do the social justice work you came to the Law School to do. The purpose of this note is to update you on our plans for the fall semester.
THE BACKGROUND
We’ve been working to get ready and watching the unfolding of the trajectory of the pandemic, waiting for the green light from the NYS Court of Appeals, the ABA, the University and then from the Governor. In the meantime, our faculty has been meeting regularly and preparing individually and together for the likelihood of online classes.
In June, the NYS Court of Appeals waived its restrictions with respect to online instruction for the fall semester. On July 10, CUNY’s Chancellor wrote after the University Board of Trustees passed a resolution on the instructional mode for the University for the fall, announcing the flexibility for us to deliver a largely online curriculum, with limited clinic work and some services taking place in the building once we receive approval from the State for our building protocols and plans. Last Friday, we received notice from the ABA that our request for a variance from the Standards to permit us to exceed its limit on online credits had been granted.
We received guidelines for safe campus reopening from the University late last week and are working on our plan for the use of the building to submit for their approval. I will fill in more details as soon as I can, and I write now to share the following.
THE PLAN FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING
When the faculty met to discuss the fall program, they focused on several principles:
We wanted to provide the learning environment that would be least likely to be disrupted by the unpredictability of the pandemic, and we wanted to promote equity in the delivery of instruction, avoiding a situation where some of our students would not have the same experience as others. Knowing that some students would not feel safe traveling to the building at this stage of the pandemic and that, over the course of the semester, it was likely that other students would need to be quarantining themselves for the safety of other students and those they live with, the faculty determined to reshape their courses following best practices for online instruction. They have been working all summer, with each other and with experts to do just that.
- We are planning a robust online curriculum — our faculty have been redesigning their courses and been engaged in training to ensure that this fall’s program will embody the active and collaborative learning that is our hallmark.
- Limited in-person activities may be necessary for some of our clinical programs.
- We are excited that each of you will be able to participate fully – no matter what is happening with the pandemic and no matter where you are and even if your health or that of someone you live with or care for means you need to take extra precautions.
- If you don’t have adequate hardware or internet service, we will work with you to make sure you do.
- We are creating a new on-line orientation program that is designed to fully orient, engage, and create opportunities for our entering students to get to know each other and the school.
- We are developing tools and techniques to facilitate your ability to connect with and learn from each other, “inside” and “outside” the classroom.
- We envision the building to be a welcoming home away from home, a place that students can use at their discretion (and perhaps by appointment) to study, abiding by safe social distancing practices.
We will be sending you more information as soon as we can, but for now please make plans for your courses to be online. Apply for an emergency grant here if you don’t have adequate hardware or internet access. Learn more here. If you are traveling back to NYC from out of state, please be aware of and observe the Governor’s guidelines for travel into New York, available here.