Effective Monday, March 16th a school closure of all K-12 institutions in Pennsylvania will begin. The closure will remain in effect for (10) business days. Officials reached this decision after careful deliberation with state, local, and school district officials. Those involved considered all currently available information on SARS-CoV-2, commonly known as ‘coronavirus’.
The administration plans to continue to monitor ongoing developments related to the spread and impact of COVID-19 during this period. At the end of the school closure, a decision regarding re-opening will be announced. Unless otherwise announced, schools will reopen Monday, March 30th, 2020.
The governor’s complete statement follows.
We understand that these are trying times and recognize the impact of the coronavirus on our students and communities.
First and foremost, my top priority as governor â and that of our education leaders â must be to ensure the health and safety of our students and school communities.
As such, I am ordering that all schools in the commonwealth close for the next two weeks.
Be aware that no school district will be penalized if it fails to meet the 180 day or school hours requirements.
The Department of Education will work with intermediate units and other stakeholders to support school districts with any continuity of learning plans they may be pursuing.
Also, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced today that it received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow eligible schools to serve meals to low income students in a non-congregate setting, such as a drive-through or grab and go, during this closure. We will also work with schools to assist them with those plans.
We appreciate your collaboration as we work together to deal with this difficult issue.
Interested readers can find the official press release from the Governor’s office here.
Media personnel wishing further information may contact Lyndsay Kensinger at 717.783.1116.