Monroe Review

All schools in Michigan are closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year by executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but legislators have a plan in place to make sure students in the state continue learning.

Executive order 2020-35, the "Continuity of Learning" plan, is expected to give schools in the state time to get educators ready to teach their students in a virtual classroom, while also making sure students are prepared to move on to the next grade level or start college.

Rep. Joe Bellino (R-Monroe) explained the plan on his Facebook page.

School districts will be able to designate five days of professional development to teachers, so they can come up with an online learning plan for their students.

For educators, a total of 24 school days will be forgiven, which means up to 24 classes can be canceled for the remainder of the school year, according to Bellino. This includes the five days for professional development.

Teachers will be able to return to school buildings to learn how to instruct students using a virtual platform, but they must adhere to social-distancing rules.    

Each school district will be responsible for coming up with their own Continuity of Learning plan, but there are some key components that must be followed:

All school staff members must be paid. Students must continue to receive an education, whether it is in a virtual classroom or by other means. There must be a commitment to provide mental health services, food distribution and disaster relief child care centers.  

High school juniors must be able to take the SAT in Fall 2020, since M-STEP (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress) and MME (Michigan Merit Examination) testing was canceled in the spring. The plan must provide a way for high school seniors to meet graduation requirements so they can graduate on time.  

Educators will not receive a letter grade evaluation for third-grade reading levels, and students with special needs must be served "to the fullest extent possible," according to Bellino.