Minnesota schools are closing to students from no later than Wednesday through March 27th as officials make long-term plans to deal with COVID-19. Governor Tim Walz says it was a decision not made lightly and that “closing school isn’t like flipping a switch and everybody go home and that’s the end of it, this is transitioning to a different way of delivering education because that is equally important.”Walz announced Sunday that he signed an executive order authorizing the closure of k-12 schools. The executive order requires schools to provide care for elementary-age children of health care professionals, first responders, and other emergency workers during previously planned school days to ensure Minnesota’s first line of defense against COVID-19 can stay on the job. Walz says “a decision to close school has a magnitude of consequences that will change life in Minnesota as we’ve seen it operating.” The governor says next steps for schools will continue to be evaluated on a daily basis. State Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker says “our top priority is always the safety and security of our students.” And state officials are “making arrangements to accommodate elementary school-age childcare for healthcare workers so they can continue to support their communities in their professional roles.” Ricker says the state expects schools to continue to pay hourly workers like nutrition staff and school bus drivers who are being incorporated into the state’s “distance learning plans.”