CHICAGO — Schools across Illinois will have to wait until at least the fall until students can return.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday at his daily news briefing that in-school learning will be suspended for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year.
Pritzker said it was not a decision he made lightly.
“My priority remains unchagned,” said Pritzker. “How do we save the most lives during this time?”
For students without reliable internet, Pritzker announced new wi-fi hotspots around the state so students can complete their work.
“The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) embarked on a collaborative project to identify public locations across the state where students could tap into free internet access,” said IBHE Executive Director Ginger Ostro. “It’s key to helping our state’s students to ‘attend’ class, use video and conference calling, conducting research, emailing assignments, and more.”
As of April 15th, the wi-fi map has 200 hotspots students can use to complete coursework. Students and their parents or guardians should continue to practice social distancing by remaining in their cars while utilizing the hotspots.
Two locations available in the Peoria area are Fondulac District Library in East Peoria and Creve Coeur Public Library.
Pritzker added that coursework should be graded based on the unprecedented times the state is in, encouraging teachers to use grades for feedback rather than a tool for compliance.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Friday announced 1,842 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 62 additional deaths.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 27,575 cases, including 1,134 deaths, in 92 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years.
