Coronavirus CT: Lamont Close To Making School Decision

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont said his administration is close to deciding how much longer schools will be closed amid the new coronavirus pandemic. His recent executive order set April 20 as the earliest possible date.

"We are obviously going to extend that," Lamont said on NBC Connecticut. "We don’t know how long we are going to extend that, I’ve got to work with people.

"You saw some of our modeling the other day that does suggest that we’ll be at the back end of the pandemic, but we still have infections going on into June, so that makes you wonder exactly how and when we could open the school year."

Lamont previously predicted students won't be returning to classrooms this school year.

"The governor’s comments this morning are consistent with what he’s said going back to March 24," Max Reiss, Lamont’s communication director, said. "The administration and [State Department of Education] continue to have discussions with local elected officials and education officials about next steps for the rest of the school year."

Hearst Connecticut reported Tuesday that the state Education Commissioner is talking with school superintendents from across the state on what the school year would look like if students remain at home for the remainder of the year.

Hearst's state Capitol reporter Ken Dixon said topics that need to be ironed out include: high school graduations, what may happen this summer with student learning and how distance learning programs would evolve throughout the spring. (To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities, click here.)

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The Partnership for Connecticut’s governing board voted Tuesday to buy 60,000 Dell laptops for around $24 million. The laptops will first go to high school students in the state’s Alliance Districts, which are the districts with the greatest proportion of students on free/reduced lunches. There are about 60,000 high school students in Alliance districts.

"The shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 public health crisis is difficult for teachers and families all over Connecticut but it is especially challenging for students who do not have access to the resources they need," Board Chair Erik Clemons said. "We’re really pleased to be able to make this purchase so that high school students of all backgrounds have equitable opportunities to learn, both in the short and long term. This would not have been possible without the generosity and commitment of both Dell and Microsoft."

Lamont said on the partnership’s conference call that he was impressed by how quickly the board was able to come up with a plan to purchase a large quantity of laptops that will help bridge the digital gap for many of the state's students.