LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A new report from Bridge MI indicates that Governor Gretchen Whitmer may sign legislation this week closing schools for the remainder of the semester.
Bridge MI reports that sources involved in the drafting process have informed them that the order is expected to come either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Details of what the order is expected to contain can be viewed below:
- School buildings will be closed for the remainder of the school year, which typically ends in June.
- Schools will provide some form of remote learning for students through the remainder of the school year. It was unclear whether that learning would involve grades or be mandatory for students.
- What that learning looks like — online education, printed packets of school work that students can work on at home, or a combination — will be developed by individual school districts and approved by intermediate school districts based on the resources available in schools and in student homes.
- High school seniors will graduate, even if they were still taking courses required for graduation by the Michigan Merit Curriculum this semester, as long as their school district determines they were on pace to graduate before the state-mandated shutdown March 16. Several school sources said they anticipated statewide graduation rates to be as high or higher than normal.
- Students in grades kindergarten through 11th grade will advance to their next grade at the beginning of the next school year, assuming their school district determines they were on pace to advance before the shutdown.
- Schools will still receive full funding under the condition that they continue to pay their teachers and other faculty members through the end of the school year.
According to Bridge MI, a spokesperson for Governor Whitmer declined to comment on the matter, but said the decision is being reviewed. Changes in detail could still be made before an official announcement.
Originally, Whitmer ordered schools closed from March 16 through April 5, but later extended the shutdown to April 13.
In the event that schools were to close for the remainder of the semester, Michigan would join seven other states that have imposed a similar shutdown, such as Alabama and Arizona.
