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By Elizabeth Shockman

Schools will get guidance from officials on how to plan for the upcoming academic year by late July. That’s according to a statement released by the Minnesota Department of Education on Monday.

“We know that fall planning is already underway in your districts and schools, and guidance from MDE is needed,” Wendy Hatch, MDE spokesperson wrote.

Schools need months to hire staff, register students and plan for all the details of starting the 2020-2021 school year. But state officials say they will not release guidance on what form the upcoming academic year will take until the week of July 27.

At the moment, officials have told district and charters to plan for three possible scenarios in the fall:

1) All children return to school buildings and in-person classes.

2) No children return to school buildings for in-person classes. Instead, all students will engage in distance learning.

3) Employ a hybrid of these two options with both in-person classes and distance learning.

This week, the Education Department is expected to issue guidance to district and charter schools on how to plan for the three possible scenarios.