After telling the public on Monday afternoon that he will issue a proclamation cancelling all school classes for the remainder of the 2020 spring, Governor John Bel Edwards backtracked saying he was not ready.
Governor Edwards at his news briefing on Tuesday did not mention any extension of the April 30th closure order for public schools. He answered only one question about schools following his opening remarks.
The Governor said, “I will discuss the K-12 school situation with Beth Scioueaux.” She is the Acting Superintendent of the state Education Department. No time-frame for extending the current April 30th closing date was given.
Last week the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education sent the Governor a letter urging him to dismiss the rest of the school year due to the continuing COVID-19 virus. At that time, Edwards said he would revise the date after talking with BESE. The indication was that the revised closing date would come last week. It did not.
On Monday, following a tour of tornado devastation in north Louisiana, the Governor held a media briefing in Monroe. That briefing was the source of the statement that schools would not reopen this year. And Monday, Edwards promised more information on Tuesday.
The Governor will hold his weekly radio talk show Wednesday at 2:00 pm. His office has scheduled his daily briefing for 4:00 pm.