Though Alabama’s K-12 public schools are technically open until Thursday, parents who choose to keep their kids home from school beginning Monday can do so. The absences will be excused.

That news came from Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey this morning in a memo to local superintendents statewide.

“Under this state of emergency, please excuse any students who are absent from school Monday, March 16, 2020 through Wednesday, March 18, 2020 . Expecting high absenteeism, we will be seeking a waiver on attendance for these days for accountability reasons,” Mackey wrote in the memo.

All K-12 public schools in Alabama will close at the end of Wednesday, March 18, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday during a press conference in Montgomery. Schools could re-open on April 6, depending on the situation at that time.

The decision affects more than 720,000 students in 1,400 schools statewide.

“That gives parents three days extra to begin working on and thinking about child care,” Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said. “We didn’t want to do something that was too quick because we know parents need some time to make those decisions for their children.” Mackey said during the last week of March, the statewide task force will re-evaluate what’s happening at that time before re-opening schools.