The battery of math, science and English language arts tests — and the ACT for high school juniors — are used for state and federal accountability. The State of Texas similarly suspended its state testing.

Blomstedt said earlier in the day that individual Nebraska school districts already had closed temporarily. He said the results from testing would not be valid or reliable for the end of this school year.

The Nebraska Department of Education indicated that it was working with the ACT organization to determine whether all public high school juniors, who normally would take the ACT as a state assessment, can have the opportunity to take the test free of charge at a later date.

OPS has rolled out a home-learning program that provides lessons for students. But the lessons won’t be graded and are intended only to keep kids engaged while they’re at home.

Blomstedt said he hopes that if schools are required to close, they still would be able to reopen yet this year.

Ricketts said the state still has just one known community transmitted case of coronavirus disease, in Douglas County.

Early Monday, parents of children in OPS were downloading lessons online or picking up packets of lessons in person at their children’s schools.