Lansing, MI–Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday that she is “optimistic” schools will be able to resume in-person instruction beginning in the fall.
“Our intent is to resume in-person instruction, to do so in a way that is safe, but also to make sure that as we get back to school, as we return to learn, that we have very clear guidance to what the minimum expectations are,” Whitmer said. “Some schools will be able to do things in an even more aggressive way, others will need some help just to get to the minimum expectations.”
Whitmer said she will provide details on requirements and recommendations for schools planning to reopen on June 30.
Whitmer said schools will be allowed to reopen in phase four of her MI Safe Start plan, though they were originally listed as being part of phase five.
Restaurant and bar dining rooms were also originally part of phase five but have been allowed to reopen in the fourth phase of the plan.
Whitmer said she remains hopeful that the entire state will be in phase five of her plan by July 4.
Whitmer previously created a task force to gather input from educators, parents, students and administrators on plans to reopen schools.
Michigan had 60,189 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state Monday, and 5,790 people have died from the virus.
Of the confirmed cases, 2,091 are in Genesee County, and 258 people in the county have died from the virus.