Texas schools will remain closed for the remainder of this school year, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday at a news conference.

Abbott previously ordered schools closed to students until May 4, but did not rule out extending his order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

He said Friday the team of doctors advising his office determined "it would be unsafe for students to gather in schools for the foreseeable future."

As of noon Friday, there were 17,371 COVID-19 cases across Texas, and 451 cases in El Paso County.

The governor's order applies to public, charter and private K-12 schools, as well as higher education institutions.

In order to receive state funding, school districts must provide some form of remote instruction through the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, which ends in late May and early June for El Paso-area students.

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Abbott's announcement did not come as a surprise to local school districts, which had been planning to remain closed for the rest of the year.

On Wednesday, the Ysleta Independent School District canceled in-person classes for the year and said remote learning would end three weeks early on May 15 to allow administrators and teachers time to prepare for online summer school.

YISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said he "was not convinced" the district would only need its distance learning platform through the summer. Administrators and teachers are planning for the possibility that distance learning could continue through the fall, if not longer, he said.

It is unknown whether Texas schools will be able to reopen for the 2020-2021 school year, which begins in late July and early August for area districts on year-round schedules, like the Clint, Socorro and San Elizario districts.

The Socorro Independent School District remains closed indefinitely, spokesman Daniel Escobar said Friday. "Depending on the developments of this pandemic, our students may be learning from home way beyond the end of this school year in order to ensure their safety and health," he said.

The El Paso and Clint Independent School Districts said Friday their campuses also remain closed indefinitely.

Local districts could choose to remain closed even if Abbott allows in-person classes to resume for the upcoming year.

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El Paso Community College already moved its summer courses online, and the University of Texas at El Paso had, prior to Friday, only been enrolling students in online courses for the summer. UTEP officials said late Friday face-to-face sections may open in late summer if the situation changes.

EPCC has not made a decision about fall semester classes, but officials hope it can resume operations as normal, spokeswoman Keri Moe said. The college's reopening will depend on guidance from local health officials, Moe said.

UTEP officials said as Friday the university has not made any decision to transition fall classes to an online format.

El Paso's school districts have postponed high school graduation ceremonies, and the governor said Friday the Texas education commissioner would soon provide guidance on how districts can conduct these ceremonies.

UTEP has postponed its spring commencement ceremony for the fall, as has EPCC.

Molly Smith may be reached at 915-546-6413; mksmith@elpasotimes.com; @smithmollyk on Twitter.