Massachusetts students will remain home for the rest of the school year to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced the decision during a press conference Tuesday. He emphasized that it is not the end of the school year but that remote learning will continue in all districts, public and private.

Baker acknowledged the school closures are not ideal, especially for parents who have to juggle work with helping their students adjust to remote learning and for graduating seniors.

“Being away from their friends, their teachers, their sports and other important resources, for many of them, all of them has been a terrible loss,” Baker said Tuesday at the Massachusetts State House.

Baker also announced that all non-emergency childcare providers will remain closed until June 29.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said this message doesn’t mean school’s out for the summer, but hopes students can “lean in, to embrace it and to do the best you can.”

Last week, Baker said his administration was discussing with officials across the state what it would take to reopen schools, but he held off announcing a decision.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education plans to launch a remote learning initiative and an advisory group involving parents teachers and education officials.

Multiple school districts sent students home in March as the state started to see its first coronavirus cases. An executive order issued by Baker made the closures official, as he ordered students to stay home until at least April 6. That order was extended until May 4 for schools.

Students shifted to remote learning over the past five weeks, often with help from parents who are working from home. Some have navigated their lessons while their parents work essential jobs, while others struggled with unreliable internet or gaps in broadband access.

Education Commissioner Jeff Riley waived the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing requirements for the 2019-20 school year earlier this month after the governor signed a bill authorizing Riley to do so.

Baker warned the public to continue to abide by the stay-at-home advisory and “social distancing” measures but held off on issuing a decision about schools for weeks.

“At this point in time, we would be concerned about writing off the rest of the school year, especially considering how incredibly uneven the online process or the remote education process has been across the commonwealth," Baker said earlier this month when asked about whether to keep schools open.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said on Monday that schools would likely stay closed for the reset of the academic year. On Tuesday, he told WGBH he agreed with the governor’s decisions to extend school closures.

“It’s the right decision to make,” Walsh said. “We’re still in the midst of this pandemic, and there’s still too many people testing positive for the coronavirus.”

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