12,000 New York City students have been taken out of in-person learning because their parents haven't signed consent slips for random COVID-19 tests

• Approximately 12,000 students in New York City have been removed from in-person learning over missing parental consent forms that would them to be randomly tested for COVID-19.
• The students whose parents haven't signed consent forms will return to remote learning for the time being.
• School officials said the students can return to in-person education after their forms are signed.

New York City schools have removed about 12,000 students from in-person learning over missing parental consent forms that would allow them to be randomly tested for COVID-19, school officials said.

Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the city Department of Education, told Bloomberg that the students will be moved to remote learning for the time being.

Those removed from in-person learning were among 190,000 preschool, elementary and special education students who had returned to classrooms in early in December.

All preschool and kindergarten-aged students - about 60,000 of the students who returned to the classroom - are exempt from random testing. New York health officials are testing 20% of the remaining 130,000 students at random each week for COVID-19, but in order to participate, the children need permission from their parents.

"Due to the extensive efforts of our staff, 91% of students who need a consent form have one on file," Styer told The Staten Island Advance. "Students without consent forms, and who do not have approved exemptions, are transitioned to remote instruction."

Health officials told Bloomberg that students who were removed from in-person learning will be able to return if they get their consent agreements signed by their parents.

The reasons behind parents not signing consent forms remain unknown, but Styer told the Staten Island Advance that random testing can help stop the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

"By providing consent to testing, parents are making it possible for us to respond quickly to any positive cases, and we are able to provide more consistent in-person instruction to more students - safely," he said.