BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards announced plans to close all K-12 schools for a month out of concern over the rise in coronavirus cases in Louisiana.

Beginning Wednesday, March 18 seven schools in East Baton Rouge Parish will be serving free breakfast and lunch. The Louisiana Department of Education obtained waivers from the federal government that enables schools to serve meals to all children age 18 and younger regardless of their location and income during the extended school closure period. You must have at least one child with you present in order to receive the meals. Pick up times will be between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays during the school closure period. 

Click here to view the list of school sites serving free meals to children ages 18 & younger. 

State officials said Friday that all schools in the state system will be closed March 16 to April 13.

Both the Baton Rouge and News Orleans Diocese have also announced they will close schools during that time.

“We are at an inflection point now and we are going to take bold action to minimize the further spread of this illness. That is why I am issuing this order today, ending all events of more than 250 people, closing our schools, and reducing the amount of face-to-face public interaction at state government buildings,” Gov. Edwards said. 

Today, I signed a proclamation that immediately halts any gathering of more than 250 people until Monday, April 13, closes all K-12 public schools statewide effective Monday, March 16 and also moves upcoming state elections. #lagov #lalege

??: https://t.co/rUJG9StXPj

— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) March 13, 2020

State resources say there are roughly 716,000 students in the public school system. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced proactive flexibilities to allow meal service during school closures to minimize potential exposure to the coronavirus.

Read the full statement from the governor's office here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2403

Ascension public schools plans this week:

• MONDAY & TUESDAY: District and school-level staff will be working to finalize plans for online delivery of instruction for Grades 3 through 12. In addition, printed packets that did not go home with primary school students will be delivered or available for pickup (will vary by school). Students will not be expected to complete school work during this time except for students who have routine online class assignments outside of this special circumstance. 
• WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY: If everything goes to plan, we will begin online delivery of instruction on Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2020, for Grades 3 through 12; and PreK through 2nd graders can start working on printed packets. We also plan to begin a modified food service for students.