Attorneys at The Legal Aid Society called out the woeful lack of progress in delivering high-quality remote instruction to students in the juvenile justice system, citing hundreds of young people on Rikers Island whose only communication with their instructors is via text chat.

Since the pandemic shut down face-to-face learning in March, city jails have yet to set up video conferencing for incarcerated students attempting to continue their education following an arrest, according to THE CITY.

“I can’t imagine a single member of this board doesn’t appreciate the importance of this opportunity to provide a high school education to those who have not finished it yet,” Mary Lynne Werlwas from The Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Project told the Board of Correction, which makes the rules for city jails.