By Gregory B. Hladky and Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

©The Connecticut Mirror

Connecticut schools will remain closed for “at least” another month because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday afternoon during a teleconference with small businesses.

Lamont’s previous executive order specified that schools should stay closed until April 20, but experts now expect COVID-19 infections in Connecticut to peak during the last part of April and early May.

The governor said his new order would require schools to remain closed at least until May 20.

The number of deaths in Connecticut related to COVID-19 rose to 335 on Wednesday with more than 1,400 people hospitalized with the disease. Lamont said Thursday that hospitals in Fairfield County, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic in this state, “still have capacity” to accept new coronavirus patients.

Lamont again said the latest statistics indicate that the infection rate is “beginning to bend a little bit,” apparently slowed by social distancing efforts and the closure of non-essential businesses in the state.

The administration’s decision to close school for another four weeks — rather than the remainder of the school year — is an effort to keep parents, students and educators engaged in learning.

Officials feared that cancelling school for the whole year would lead to students becoming disengaged and checking out until a new school year begins in late August.

The governor has signaled on multiple occasions, however, that school may likely be closed for the remainder of the year. If school does resume after another month break, it means students would come back for just three or four weeks before summer break begins.

State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona on Tuesday made a recommendation to local districts about how to handle grading during these extended school closures.

He emphasized that while final decisions about grading is left to local officials, the department recommends that districts focus their energies on student engagement and learning and less on actual A through F grades. Switching to pass/fail grading, he said, will help districts determine who moves on to the next grade and who graduates.

This story originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, nonprofit news organization covering government, politics and public policy in the state.