Governor Tom Wolf has made the decision to keep Pennsylvania schools closed until the end of the school year with the input of Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine and Education Secretary Pedro Rivera.

“We must continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus during this national crisis,” Governor Wolf said in a press release. “This was not an easy decision but closing schools until the end of the academic year is in the best interest of our students, school employees and families.”

With the coronavirus still sweeping the nation and harshly affecting the state, the PA Board of Education welcomed the decision to keep schools closed and conclude the school year with remote learning for students.

According to The Associated Press, this decision affects over 1.7 million students in public and private schools across the state.

Local school districts will be in charge of handling graduations, but these decisions will ultimately depend on the extent of the social distancing and stay-at-home orders as graduation dates approach, Rivera told The Associated Press.

“Reopening will depend on the decision by the governor, based on the data and the research and the expectations set by the secretary of health,” Rivera said in response to the possibility of school campuses opening over the summer for additional programming.

As of now, future school plans are dependent on the rate of the spread of the virus and how well Pennsylvanians abide by the current orders.