ATLANTA — Georgia students enrolled in public schools across the state won't get the chance to complete their current school year in a classroom setting.
"I will sign an executive order today closing K-12 public schools for the rest of the school year," Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news conference Wednesday.
He said the decision comes after recommendations from health experts.
"I want to stress that online learning will continue," he said.
Kemp thanked educators and superintendents that have stayed in touch with his office through this process.
"We will continue to work with them on the path forward," he added.
The governor had originally ordered all schools closed on March 16 through the end of that month. Then on March 26, he then said schools would stay closed through April 24. But this fluid situation has led him to the decision for teachers to continue educating students through online learning.
"As you know over the past 48 hours, the modeling and data has dramatically changed for Georgia and many of the states around the country," Kemp said.
For the latest numbers from the state, click here.
During the same news conference, Gov. Kemp announced that on Thursday would sign a shelter-in-place order for Georgians that would go into effect on Friday.
"I will sign a statewide shelter-in-place order which will go into effect on Friday and run through April 13, 2020," he said.
Essential businesses, he said, will remain open and that the order will be presented to the public on Thursday.
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