North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced that schools in the state will be allowed to reopen for summer programming starting June 1.
Most states have mandated distance learning for the remainder of the school year because of the coronavirus, leaving many parents wondering if summer programming, including childcare and summer school, would be scrapped as well. In North Dakota, schools will have the option to resume programming as planned.
Burgum announced on Monday the state’s 16,500 students that typically participate in summer programming will be allowed to resume classes with a maximum capacity of 15. The governor said this could be considered a “soft opening” for schools to try before classes resume in the fall. Students will be able to take driver’s education courses, college admissions exams, and other programming throughout the state.
“This will help get us open for next fall, and it will ensure that students can receive education, and some really important programs can keep going on through the summer,” Burgum said.
He also announced that students will be allowed to return to schools in small groups throughout the remainder of the month to collect any belongings that were left behind when schools closed in late March.
State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said that schools that do not feel comfortable resuming summer programming do not have to do so, but said that the state will not stop schools from offering programming.
“Nothing in this order requires that a district open for summer and offer these programs, and nothing prohibits a school, with approval from the Department of Public Instruction, from offering summer school courses by distance learning,” Baesler said in a statement about the policy.
North Dakota has had a relatively small coronavirus outbreak. The state has recorded 1,518 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 36 related deaths.
