Crisis & Disaster Planning/Management

Friday morning update: 45 states have closed all schools because of the coronavirus

At least 114,000 U.S. public and private schools are closed, Education Week estimates.
March 20, 2020

Forty-five states have closed all their schools as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the education of millions.

Education Week reports that as of Friday morning, March 20,  the closures in those states, combined with individual district closures in the other states, have canceled classes for at least 114,000 U.S. public and private schools.

At least 52.6 million school students have been affected.

The United States has more than 98,000 public schools and at least 34,000 private schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics

Almost 50.8 million students are enrolled in public schools and 5.8 million in private schools.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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