New Mexico public schools to be closed for rest of academic year

New Mexico’s secretary of education announced in an online conference Friday morning the state’s public schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year in an effort to slow a coronavirus pandemic.

Education Secretary Ryan Stewart, acknowledging the announcement was “a painful decision,” said the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had spread in the state and “hadn’t reached a peak,” noting there also was evidence of community spread of the illness in some cases. Stewart also said the state was following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to lengthen the closure.

“This is not a moment anyone anticipated,” Stewart said about the school-closing announcement. “This is not something we would wish on anybody.”

The move wasn't entirely unexpected. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said earlier in the week that school closures, which began March 16, likely would be extended beyond the initially announced April 6 end date.

Stewart said school districts would determine their own “demonstrations of competency” for students who would be graduating this year. He said competency could be determined through assessments or college entrance exams. The time for students to determine that competency would be extended to mid-June.

Stewart said graduation ceremonies and proms could be postponed or held online.

Additional college entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT would be offered during the summer. Advanced-placement courses would be offered in 45-minute formats online, he said.

Stewart said the state is closely examining the federal coronavirus relief bill winding through Congress; it might provide funding for the Department of Public Education and local school districts to help students who don’t have access to high-tech devices learn online.

He said the department would move to a pass-or-no-credit grading system for now.

Stewart said school districts’ teachers and support staff would continue to be paid at the current rate. They would be given guidance to “work productively” during the closure.

School districts will continue their meal-serving programs, Stewart said. Spring athletic events would be canceled.

As of Friday morning, 136 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in New Mexico, with one death in Eddy County. None had been reported in Quay County. The number of cases in the U.S. stood at about 86,000, with more than 1,300 deaths.