State Superintendent Chris Reykdal Non-Committal on Kids Returning to School

When Governor Jay Inslee extended the stay home order last week through at least May 4th, one the first questions was … how will that affect the school closure order, currently set to be lifted April 24th?

During a YouTube Q&A, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal says it's unclear.

"I don't know if we're coming back to school this year and I want to be honest about that. It's going to be really tough to do because we want to make sure people are safe. If we rush back to school and put all of us in tight classrooms and bring everyone back into our buildings, there's a chance that our case load peaks back up again and that would be the absolute worst thing for public health."

He added one of the biggest challenges districts are working through right now is how to get seniors graduated.

Reykdal says to a certain extent, the decision is out of hands.

"The Governor is going to make that decision. I will support that decision. I think you should expect to be in this distance learning model for quite a long time. That's the honest truth, but we will keep you up to date as we know."

Reykdal says districts are getting better about providing distance learning opportunities as time goes on.

The current school closure order WAS set to expire April 24th.