Inslee Extends Statewide School Closures Through The School Year

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington students will not return to a traditional classroom setting until the fall, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday. All public and private K-12 schools were closed three weeks ago as part of early efforts in Washington to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of coronavirus in Washington. The original order would have allowed for classes to resume after April 24.

Washington is the fourteenth state to cancel classes through the school year amid the ongoing outbreak.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Washington. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

Despite some promising signs that our state is making progress in overcoming COVID-19, Inslee said it is essential to remain vigilant in our efforts until it is clear that the virus is defeated. Inslee noted that the number of fatalities has continued to rise in recent days, but even when that number begins to drop, a substantial risk remains.

"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."

The governor's updated order prohibits all in-person classroom instruction through June 19, with some exceptions for students with disabilities, English language learners and those with other considerations that could not be served by distance learning.

"This closure order will also allow educators to focus their energies and their amazing creative talents on the best ways to provide education to their students in this challenging circumstance," Inslee said.

Chris Reykdal, the state superintendent, underlined the need to bolster the availability and quality of internet access in urban and rural areas to ensure students across the state would be better served by remote learning options moving forward.

"This is a big moment for us to transform," Reykdal said. "Our task is to rise to it."

Related: Amazon Donates 8,200 Laptops To Seattle Students

Reykdal said the lessons learned from this forced period of distance learning could prove invaluable for putting in place more robust systems that could be put to use during the next severe weather event or natural disaster.

According to the governor, there may be possibilities for some traditional graduation ceremonies in the months ahead, depending on the evolving outlook of the public health crisis.

"If there is any opportunity to bring students back for a few days, including graduation ceremonies for our seniors, we will continue to explore that option," Inslee said. "That opportunity will be guided by our collective behavior and the success we can achieve with the choices we make today."

Reykdal said his office is working to develop a statewide framework to ensure students are aligned with requirements for higher education and would work with university partners to ensure students' potential admissions are not negatively impacted by the modified school year.