WATCH: Louisiana’s Edwards says he’s weighing keeping schools closed

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards said he’s likely to keep Louisiana’s K-12 public schools shuttered for the rest of the school year because of the coronavirus, in response to calls from state education leaders not to reopen them because of public health risks.

Edwards’ school closure order remains in place through the end of April. Louisiana’s top education board, school superintendents and school boards have sent requests to the Democratic governor, asking him to extend the closures through the end of the school year, which runs until the final weeks of May.

“I just want to make sure that I’m clear on what they’re requesting,” Edwards said, adding that he expects to make an announcement soon.

“Obviously there’s a really good chance that I’m going to quickly do what they’re asking me to do.”