All schools in Washington state will remain closed for the rest of the academic year, Gov. Jay Inslee announced during a press conference Monday.
Inslee initially announced schools would stay closed until April 24. However, Washington schools chief Chris Reykdal warned that the closure could be extended for a longer time.
Instead, the state school system's roughly 1.2 million students will continue distance learning. Schools are expected to open back up next fall.
“We simply cannot take the chance of reopening on-site instruction in this calendar school year,” Inslee said. “We cannot risk losing the gains we have made after the peak of this pandemic presumably will have passed.”
As of April 6, Washington state has confirmed 7,984 coronavirus cases, including 338 deaths.
“This is a hard decision,” Inslee said. “In the next several weeks our K-12 schools are not going to be the best they’ve ever been but they can be the most creative, they can be the most dedicated.”
In the meantime, schools around the state are still obligated to give students food, lessons, and child care to their students. Approximately, 45% of students in Washington state come from low-income families.
“What I would love to see us do in greater scale is obviously get connectivity for our families” and devices to all students," Reykdal said. “Even a slow connection could be a significant limitation.”
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