Schools in Seattle, Bellevue, Lake Washington, Shoreline to close for at least next two weeks

In the wake of a sweeping ban on all events with over 250 people in three Washington counties, Seattle has opted to close all of its public schools for at least the next two weeks starting Thursday.

“There will be no online learning because we cannot insure that students have access to internet and computers,” Denise Juneau, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent, said in a news conference on Wednesday.

Updated Puget Sound school closures

Seattle Public Schools made the decision after “a lot of thoughtful input from multiple stakeholders, including principals, teachers, central office leadership, area superintendents, and in collaboration with King County Public Health.”

Lake Washington School District and the Shoreline School District are also closing all schools from March 12-March 27. Bellevue School District closing all school Friday through March 27.

“The decision to close the district was extremely difficult,” the district said in a news release. “We know that closing our schools will impact our most vulnerable families and we recognize that working families depend on the consistency and predictability of supports and services our schools offer. We are working with partners and the city to determine how to best mitigate the impact closing schools will have on working families.”

The district will shut down for “a minimum of 14 calendar days,” asking that its students and staff “treat this as if your building was about to go on spring break.”

While announcing the event ban that has now taken effect in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties, Gov. Jay Inslee stopped short of ordering schools to close himself, but did urge them “to make contingency plans around how they could provide services to families in need if schools close for several weeks.”

Check the entire school closures list from the state office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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