Apr 23, 2020 - Health

Kansas governor: "Way too early to call" whether schools will be open in fall

Axios

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said Thursday during an Axios virtual event that it's "way too early to call" whether the states' schools will reopen in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The big picture: Kelly was one of the fastest governors in the country to move to close school buildings at the start of the outbreak, making that decision in mid-March. She added that the state would "prepare for the worst" in anticipation of a second wave of the virus in the fall and be prepared whether school buildings were open or shut.

School closings have had a domino effect on students' and families' everyday lives, especially as many parents rely on schools for child care or to provide their children with meals.

The state of play: Kelly said that the decision to close schools was only taken after a group of advisers "worked all night, all day for about 4 days and put together a very comprehensive, very thorough package of learning tools for our kids."

She noted the concerns that schools provide a wealth of resources for children beyond education, but acted decisively to provide "certainty about what was going to happen."

Go deeper: Virus-driven shift to online classes brings home the digital divide

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Kansas governor: "Way too early to call" whether schools will be open in fall

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