Arizona has become the seventh state to officially close its schools through the end of the 2019-20 academic year to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The Arizona Republic reports that Gov. Doug Ducey, In a joint statement with Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, says the decision was made to align with guidance from the federal government.
"These efforts are crucial, and we recognize that schools are making every effort possible to continue providing instruction during closures," they wrote in a statement.
On Friday, Ducey signed legislation to allow students to finish the school year from home.
The plan mandates that schools offer classes in an alternative format, presumably online, so students could finish out the school year from home. It also includes provisions to ensure seniors in high school graduate.
Nearly all schools in the United States have been closed to bring about the social distancing that medical authorities say will slow the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus.
Six other states—Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Vermont and Virginia—also have announced that schools will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year, according to the latest data from Education Week.
Four states—California, New Jersey, North Dakota and Pennsylvania—have closed schools "until further notice." Most other states have closed their schools, but have not ruled out reopening later in the spring.
Only three states—Iowa, Maine and Nebraska—have not issued statewide directives to close schools. They have left the decision up to local authorities.
School closures because of the coronavirus pandemic have affected nearly all schools—at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools, Education Week says. At least 55.1 million of the nation's 56.6 million preK-12 students have been affected.
Time is of the essence, according to the city councilor
"Things should be happening sooner than they are now," he said.
To that point, Tyer said city leaders have been active on the issue.
"We had been thinking about this from the very beginning, and I appreciate his concern and his eagerness about this topic," she said, noting she wishes "to reassure him and others that we have been thinking about this a great deal."
Tyer, too, said she's happy it all came together.
"I'm pretty relieved that we have a working solution for the homeless," she said.
Her administration had identified early on that overcrowding at area shelters was a public health concern, she said.
"We can't have sick people together with people who are well. We have to separate them."
Cots for the space are like "ready to go" via the Department of Homeland Security, Sacchetti said. But he'll need to find people to help set them up, he said.
Thanks to the $25,000 grant that he expects from the Berkshire United Way, staffing won't be an issue, he said.
Before St. Joe's suddenly became available, Sacchetti said the agency had been working to set up a tent on their upper North Street property in order to expand its capacity. The state's building inspector denied that permit last week, he said.
"Then we moved beyond that idea to St. Joe's, which is better," he said.
Sacchetti said he is impressed by support from officials and by the resiliency of his staff.
"It's really been an extraordinary effort. In some ways it's an amazing thing to watch," he said. "Shelters are always dealing with crisis, so our staff tends to be less panicked with something like this."
Aman
