Louisiana closing schools statewide until April 13

BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards announced plans to close all K-12 schools for a month out of concern over the rise in coronavirus cases in Louisiana.

Beginning Wednesday, March 18 seven schools in East Baton Rouge Parish will be serving free breakfast and lunch. The Louisiana Department of Education obtained waivers from the federal government that enables schools to serve meals to all children age 18 and younger regardless of their location and income during the extended school closure period. You must have at least one child with you present in order to receive the meals. Pick up times will be between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays during the school closure period.

Click here to view the list of school sites serving free meals to children ages 18 & younger.

Grab-N-Go breakfast and lunch will be served at the following schools in East Baton Rouge Parish:

Northeast Elementary 13801 Pride Port Hudson Rd. Pride, LA 70770

Progress Elementary 855 Progress Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70807

Woodlawn Elementary 8160 Antioch Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70817

Wildwood Elementary 444 Halfway Tree Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70810

Capitol Middle 5100 Greenwell Springs Rd. Baton Rouge, LA 70806

McKinley Middle 1550 Eddie Robinson Sr. Dr. Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Park Forest Middle 3760 Aletha Dr. Baton Rouge, LA 70814

State officials said Friday that all schools in the state system will be closed March 16 to April 13.

Both the Baton Rouge and News Orleans Diocese have also announced they will close schools during that time.

“We are at an inflection point now and we are going to take bold action to minimize the further spread of this illness. That is why I am issuing this order today, ending all events of more than 250 people, closing our schools, and reducing the amount of face-to-face public interaction at state government buildings,” Gov. Edwards said.

Today, I signed a proclamation that immediately halts any gathering of more than 250 people until Monday, April 13, closes all K-12 public schools statewide effective Monday, March 16 and also moves upcoming state elections. #lagov #lalege



??: https://t.co/rUJG9StXPj — John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) March 13, 2020

State resources say there are roughly 716,000 students in the public school system. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced proactive flexibilities to allow meal service during school closures to minimize potential exposure to the coronavirus.

Read the full statement from the governor's office here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2403

Ascension public schools plans this week: