NEW YORK - A new grading system is being rolled out for public school students who have been learning remotely during the outbreak.

Kindergarten to fifth grade students will have two standards, "meets standards" or "needs improvement."

Grades 6 to 8 will have the same grading standards along with "course in progress."

High school students will continue to use the existing grading scales.

But they will also have the option of changing a passing letter grade to "pass" for the semester.

That will allow them to receive credit with no effect on their GPA.

The mayor and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza say the new policy is about flexibility but also keeping students on track for the future.

"The pain it’s inflicting in children and families has to be taken into account. There has to be a sense of flexibility in a moment like that. But there also has to be a reminder of our ultimate responsibility to our kids. To prepare them for the future," De Blasio said.

We have to craft the policy that recognizes the trauma, that recognizes the voice, that recognizes what our students and our community has been through yet still provides for a path forward for our students," Carranza said.

Elementary school students who are marked "Course in Progress" will be given more academic support in the summer.

High school students and 8th graders who get a "Course in Progress" mark will get priority with a goal of graduating in August.

The Department of Education is also trying to close the digital divide by providing hundreds of thousands of iPads to families who need them for remote learning.

Mayor de Blasio says 247,000 iPads will be delivered to students by the end of this week. 

The goal is to provide Internet-enabled devices for remote learning to those that need it.

Families who do not have a device should call 311.

Meantime, the city is working to make sure High School Seniors get a graduation ceremony - even though it has to be a virtual one.

During the mayor's briefing Tuesday, he said there are plans for one large celebration.

There will be some special guests, some of which were graduates of the city school system.

The mayor did not offer up any other details including when the virtual graduation would be held but he did say senior students deserve to celebrate their accomplishments.