Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday announced that all K-12 schools in Pennsylvania would be closed for 10 business days beginning Monday in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The governor said the decision was made in consultation with school districts as well as state and local officials.
“We understand that these are trying times and recognize the impact of the coronavirus on our students and communities,” Mr. Wolf said in a statement. “First and foremost, my top priority as governor – and that of our education leaders – must be to ensure the health and safety of our students and school communities.”
Mr. Wolf said the state will reevaluate at the end of the 10-day period and decide whether continued closure is needed. The governor said no school would be penalized if it failed to meet the 180 day or school hour requirement.
Many school districts in Western Pennsylvania have already announced closures of two weeks or more.
Hours before the announcement, two state lawmakers from Western Pennsylvania and a Pittsburgh Public School board member had urged Mr. Wolf to close all schools. The governors of Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia decided to close all K-12 schools in their states over the past two days.
The Pittsburgh Public Schools had been making preparations for an extended closure, but the governor’s announcement preempted some of those plans.
“As a member of a coalition of local superintendents, we intended to announce a plan for the phased closure of our schools next week to slow the spread of COVID-19,” district Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a statement.
City schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said the district was planning to cancel classes Monday and Tuesday so that teachers could put together lesson plans, which would have been given to students during a half-day on Wednesday. Those lessons will no longer happen because teachers did not have time to create the work packets and not all students will have access to the internet.
That could have caused some problems for the district because it cannot provide internet access to students during the shutdown. It is not as urgent of a concern for the city schools, though, as the governor's order relieves schools of the requirement of 180 days of school.
"At this time we will not be able to provide [internet service], and we're thankful for the relief," Ms. Pugh said.
The district encourages students to continue reading, and students who have internet access can use learning tools provided on the Pittsburgh Public Schools' website.
Ms. Pugh said said the district wants students to stay home if possible and will not be able to help families with child care.
"We understand that this prolonged closure is going to pose challenges," she said. "Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate child care needs."
Pittsburgh Public Schools will be able to provide some meals to students during the shut down, according to Ms. Pugh.
She said students can go to the school closest to their home — which will not necessarily be the school they attend — to receive “grab and go” style meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. from March 16 through March 20.
Students will not be allowed to eat at the school buildings in an effort to stop groups from forming.
Mayor Bill Peduto said the city would work with the Pittsburgh Public Schools and nonprofit partners to provide food options for children while schools are closed.
City of Pittsburgh employees with school-aged children, the mayor said, would be allowed to tele-work, and those who cannot can bring their children to the office.
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said all diocesan schools would be closed in conjunction with the governor’s orders and details about at-home learning would be sent to families through school principals. The diocese said onsite parish religious education classes and teen ministry was suspended for the same amount of time.
The state Department of Education will work with intermediate units and other education stakeholders to assist school districts with any continuity of learning plans.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey released a statement commending Mr. Wolf for the decision to close schools throughout the state.
“This is a difficult time for our state and our nation,” he said. “In order to effectively combat this virus, we need the government, the private sector, health care providers and citizens all working together during this pandemic.”
A cohort of eight state education organizations, including the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Pennsylvania School Boards Association, Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Pennsylvania Principals Association, also praised the decision to shut down schools.
“We agree that this action will create an ability for better social distancing, which helps prevent the spread of the virus, and will provide schools with the opportunity to further address facility cleaning and prepare for instruction going forward, along with other outstanding issues,” the groups said.
The Allegheny County Health Department said Friday that there were no presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the county. One presumptive case, though, was discovered in Washington County.
Pa. counties reporting COVID-19 cases
To date, a total of 41 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Pennsylvania — 35 presumptive positive cases and six confirmed cases.
The order affecting more than 1.7 million school children, in public and private K-12 schools, came as confirmed cases in the state leaped to 41 from 22, including the first patients under 18 and the first cases west of the Susquehanna River.
Mr. Wolf said his actions are designed to save lives.
“My hope is that we’ve taken actions that are absolutely appropriate and decisive,” the governor told a news conference Friday afternoon at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Pennsylvania.
Late Friday, State System of Higher Education Chancellor Daniel Greenstein ordered a halt to all face-to-face instruction for 2 weeks across Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities to conform with Gov. Wolf's k-12 closure order.
Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1352. The Associated Press contributed.
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First Published: March 13, 2020, 7:20 p.m.
