Nonprofit Mississippi News: As coronavirus precautions continue closing schools and businesses, Carey Wright, the state superintendent, is asking for state testing requirements to end for the 2019-20 schoolyear. The 14 assessments required for students in grades K-12 are mandated by either state or federal law or the state board of education policy. The Mississippi Department of Education sent a statement late Monday afternoon requesting that the State Board of Education suspend federal and state assessment and accountability requirements. Wright stated that the state board of education will meet virtually on March 19, at 10 a.m. This request is in response to coronavirus. Mississippi’s public schools have been forced to close for at least the next week. Many districts have agreed to stay closed longer. There are currently 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mississippi, with that number expected to rise. Here is a list of school closings that the department of education keeps track of. [Read Mississippi Today’s complete coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Mississippi. Federal law requires Mississippi’s public schools to evaluate students in a range of subjects. The Mississippi Department of Education will “seek out the maximum authority and waivers afforded to it by the U.S. Department of Education” if the state board approves. Factors such as students’ proficiency and graduation rates and ACT performance are all part of Mississippi’s accountability system, which measures the quality of schools’ education. Ratings are given to schools and districts on an A-F scale. Wright’s request will be granted by the board. Students won’t be taking state exams at the end the school year, and schools districts can not be rated. Future prospects for Mississippi schools are not clear at this time. Governor. Tate Reeves declared an emergency on March 14 and asked that all public schools extend their spring break by at most one week. Reeves signed an executive order Monday to “encourage schools to start setting up distant learning operations and options for our children.” This suggests that in-person classes will not be possible even if schools reopen on March 23. This means that nearly 466,000 students in public schools across the state will lose their learning time due to the closures. The law requires schools to be open for 180 days. However, the state board can waive this requirement and allow them to make up the days lost. Wright stated that she would recommend to the state board that schools be closed for extended periods of time. This includes policies about attendance, promotion, and graduation._x000D