SAFETY FIRST

A Lot of Schools Won’t Go Back Until the Next Academic Year

Florida, Kansas, Arizona, and California have all warned parents that keeping kids at home looks like it’ll be long-term.

A lot of kids won’t be going back to school for a long time. Florida, Kansas, and Arizona have all made plans to keep schools closed through the summer break, and California has told parents to expect the same. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday the closure of all K-12 schools in the state for the rest of the school year. In Florida, all remaining tests for students K-12 have been canceled and no grades will be calculated for the rest of the academic year. Arizona state lawmakers will make arrangements Wednesday for the possibility that students will be at home through the end of May. California Gov. Gavin Newsom told parents: “Don’t anticipate schools are going to open up in a week, please don’t anticipate in a few weeks... I would plan and assume that it’s unlikely that many of these schools, few if any, will open before the summer break.” So far, 39 states have decided to close schools for the coming weeks, reportedly affecting more than 41 million students.