Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced Tuesday that schools in the state will be closed for the remainder of the school year due to COVID-19.
The governor said he consulted with the Utah State Board of Education, and determined the state needed to extend the soft closure of Utah's public and charter schools. Herbert closed the schools effective March 16th to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
"We're tremendously grateful to all our teachers and counselors who are working hard to teach and take care of their students from a distance. I'm grateful for the creativity and resilience of all who are involved," said the governor.
Sydnee Dickson, the Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction, thanked parents for being flexible. Dickson mentioned that virtual graduations are being planned, and administrators are looking at options such as pass/incomplete versus letter grades when it comes to student assessment.
KPCW will provide more details as they become available. The Utah Legislature will hold a special session Thursday, April 16th and one of the items on the agenda addressess the challenges public schools face with COVID-19.