With Schools Canceled Thanks to Coronavirus, Is It Time to Revisit Virtual at-Home Education Plans?

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MINOT, N.D. — Last night, Sunday, March 16, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced his administration’s recommendation that schools across the state close as an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Shortly after the announcement, state Rep. Jim Grueneich R , Jamestown, moving to Ellendale, texted me, reminding me of an idea he had proposed during the 2019 legislative session: virtual school days.

“Had it passed would certainly have been an option which we don’t currently have,” he told me.

Last year’s debate over the bill, HB1170, was couched in the challenges presented by weather cancelations, but the idea would have utility in other situations, too.

Like kids out because of injuries or illness.

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