New York, Aug 4 (IANS): Parents are the "ultimate decision makers" on whether or not they want to send their children to school, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

"This is between the school districts and the parents," Xinhua news agency quoted Cuomo as saying on Monday.

"The ultimate decision makers are the parents, and I don't hear enough of the parents' concerns and the parents' involvement and the dialogue with the parents."

The Governor said he would issue a decision on school reopening this week.

Local districts were required to submit their reopening plans to the state until July 31.

Cuomo said some school districts' plans are indecipherable.

Some don't have enough detail, and some raise questions to be answered.

While members of the State Education Department and other officials are reviewing them, Cuomo stressed the importance that districts create dialogue with parents and families.

He is encouraging school districts to set up conversations with families as soon as possible to address questions or concerns associated with reopening.

As of Monday afternoon, there have been more than 416,000 COVID-19 cases, with over 32,000 deaths, in New York state, the once epicentre of the pandemic in the US.