Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday called on all public schools in Tennessee to remain closed for the rest of the academic year as the state continues to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Lee announced the recommendation at his statewide afternoon news conference in Nashville. The decision comes two days after the governor extended his stay-at-home order through the end of April and as he looks to formulate a plan to reopen the state's economy in May.

"We want to make sure there is flexibility" for districts across the state, Lee said. "Students have lost a significant amount of learning time."

In addition to learning time, Lee said time outside of the classroom has further implications, noting educators play a large role in the wellbeing of students.

Penny Schwinn, the state’s education commissioner, will lead a new COVID-19 Child Wellbeing Task Force. In a statement, Schwinn voiced appreciation for the recommendation to close schools for the remainder of the year.

“Children being out of school for such a long time has significant implications for a child’s wellbeing, and this poses a different kind of challenge for all of us, as communities and as a state," she said in the statement.

This is the third recommendation from the governor on statewide school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he expects all districts and schools in the state to follow the recommendation and that the state would communicate with any district that wanted to open again this school year.

After some schools and districts had already announced closures, Lee recommended closures through the end of the month on March 16. Over the following week, cases rose statewide and lawmakers passed a bill allowing for a shorter school year and suspension of TNReady testing. By March 24, Lee recommended that school closures be extended statewide to April 24.

School closures due to COVID-19 have been difficult decisions, fraught with accessibility issues for internet and technology, as well as to meals.

And who can make that decision has been a push-pull between leadership at school, district and state levels, both in Tennessee and across the country. Other nearby states have also called off school for the remainder of the academic year, including most recently Mississippi.

In a statement, Beth Brown, president of the Tennessee Education Association, recognized that while educators and parents may be eager for school to resume, health and safety must be prioritized.

"Tennessee educators must have significant input in the planning and implementation of efforts to overcome learning loss," Brown said in the statement.

"There is no better place for Tennessee students than public schools, and every educator from the bus driver and cafeteria worker to the counselor and school nurse will be needed to support students," Brown continued. "Use of federal emergency funds must first prioritize the ability to reopen public schools for the 2020-2021 school year.”

Lee said additional information about federal funding is forthcoming.

Shelby County announces closure

Soon after Lee's announcement, Shelby County Schools announced that schools and district offices would be closed for the remainder of the academic year.

In response to Lee's earlier recommendation to close through April 24, SCS announced it would be closed "until further notice," suggesting that students would not return for the academic year.

"We will be offering more guidance about employee expectations as we move forward and finalize our long-term plans for the year," SCS Superintendent Joris Ray said in a statement Wednesday. "Parents, we encourage you to keep your children engaged using our comprehensive learning guides/workbooks and instructional supports."

Earlier Wednesday, SCS shared a learning guide that outlines additional guidance for the remainder of the school year.

New rules say grades can only improve for high schoolers

The latest move comes as educators have worked to deal with the extended closures.

Last week, the Tennessee State Board of Education approved emergency rules on grades and graduation requirements for high school students; final high school grades for the spring semester can be no lower than the grade the student had on March 20. Remote learning can be used to help improve students' grades, but cannot lower them.

It's up to local districts as to whether students in kindergarten through eighth grades would follow the same grading policy, board members said Thursday.

More:Tennessee lowers high school graduation requirements under emergency coronavirus rules

The number of credit hours required to graduate from high school has been lowered from 22 to 20. The 20 credit hours include four in math, four in English, three in science, two in social studies and seven additional credits.

Sara Morrison, executive director of the state board, said Thursday that they were created to balance "district flexibility wherever possible with the need for statewide consistency." The board is trying to stay nimble in case things change with the pandemic.

"We stand ready to come back together, but we also know that even within these rules, additional adjustments may be needed in the future," Morrison said Thursday.

Morrison said "the harder work is still ahead" in preparing for next school year. Preparing to make up for the time lost this year will be the next issue to work out.

Brown praised the rules passed on Thursday.

March bill paved way for early closure, shorter academic year

A bill approved by lawmakers on March 19 amended testing and graduation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year.

More:Tennessee lawmakers approve bill to cancel the TNReady standardized assessment

More:School testing and coronavirus: ACT postponed for SCS, district supports TNReady suspension

The bill said the state will not require TNReady testing in the 2019-20 school year, a move supported early on by school leaders in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville.

It also ensured the cancellation of the test wouldn't count against schools, teachers and students on certain accountability measures that would normally be required by the state.

The bill also gave Schwinn the power to provide waivers to districts for not meeting the statewide requirement of 180 instructional classroom days. The bill said districts won't be financially punished due to the missed instructional days.

It directed the Tennessee State Board of Education to revise the high school graduation requirements for the 2019-2020 school year to ensure that high school seniors affected by closures do not fail to receive a diploma.

And the bill canceled other required state tests for graduation or accountability and ensures teachers aren't punished if they aren't able to fulfill state licensure requirements.

What are schools in neighboring states doing?

States bordering Tennessee to the south and west have closed schools for the rest of the school year, as reported on a nationwide school closures map by Education Week. Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi are all closed for the remainder of the academic year, as well as Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Virginia, which borders counties in the northeast, has also closed for the academic year.

More:Gov. Tate Reeves: Schools closed for rest of academic year, will shift to distance learning

Kentucky and North Carolina which border the Tennessee counties to the north and east, have made decisions to close, but not yet for the remainder of the year, according to the Education Week map.

Tennessean and Knoxville News Sentinel reporters contributed to this story.

Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino