Arizona to keep schools closed for 2 more weeks due to coronavirus
Mar 20, 2020, 3:26 PM | Updated: 7:44 pm
(AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
PHOENIX — Arizona’s schools will remain closed for at least two extra weeks because of the continued coronavirus outbreak.
Gov. Doug Ducey and Superintendent Kathy Hoffman announced in a video posted to Twitter on Friday that the school closure will be extended two extra weeks.
Arizona schools were temporarily closed starting Monday, which was initially supposed to last for two weeks in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. This extension will push the closure through April 10.
“Our goal is to get kids safely back in the classroom as soon as possible while providing parents and educators certainty so they can plan and make decisions,” Ducey said in the video.
Latest update on our schools. Thank you @Supt_Hoffman for your continued partnership and leadership to keep our kids safe and healthy. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/mo0G3kuhje
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) March 20, 2020
Schools will still have to offer general educational opportunities to students until the end of the calendar year as part of the closure.
The statewide assessment for the 2019-20 school year was also canceled due to the extended closure.
All school employees will continue to get paid and are expected to work remotely until the closure is lifted.
Some state budget allotments for the schools will shift to the next fiscal year.
State health officials didn’t recommend a temporary statewide closure of schools, even as schools began to announce them in the week leading up to an announcement from Ducey and Superintendent Kathy Hoffman last Sunday.
The Republican governor also penned a letter to Arizona families and others after the temporary closure offering more information about how students .