GRANT COUNTY - Following the sudden announcement Friday from Governor Jay Inslee ordering all K-12 schools, including private and charter schools, to close by Tuesday, March 17, districts are scrambling to determine how to proceed.

However, the state has not ordered preschool closures. Districts are encouraged to keep existing child care and early learning programs, including preschool programs, open and available, according to a press release from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Districts across the county were sidelined by the announcement, having been given little to no forewarning of the governor’s Friday declaration. The announcement came as a surprise to all officials from districts that spoke with the Herald, each indicating they had been planning for the long-term possibility of closures but hadn’t expected the decision to come from the state, at least not yet.

Now, districts are scrambling to determine the viability of contingency plans, as well as ways to provide vital services, such as meals for low-income students and special education. In almost all Grant County districts, the majority of students qualify for free and reduced lunch--in Wahluke School District, every last student qualifies.

Generally speaking, schools now have two options: close altogether, possibly making up school days in the summer as though they were snow days, or implement online or other distance learning.

Among school districts in Grant County, only Royal and Soap Lake school districts will be closing earlier than Tuesday. Soap Lake School District Superintendent Sunshine Pray announced Friday that all schools in the district would send students home immediately and would take the next week to formalize its next steps, while Royal School District announced its closure in a brief statement.

Moses Lake, Ephrata, Quincy, Wahluke and Almira Coulee-Hartline school districts have confirmed that their schools will be open Monday. Wilson Creek School District schools will also be open Monday, but attendance is not mandatory, the district said in a statement.

As of Friday evening, only the Moses Lake School District had indicated it would be moving to online learning and had already been preparing to do so. In a Thursday meeting of the school board, it was announced that the school district would provide students with portable Wi-Fi hotspots if they didn’t have access to the internet at home.

According to state law, public school districts that move to online classes are required to ensure every student has access to both a computer and access to the internet. Due to the logistics and cost involved in such an operation, many districts, such as the Othello School District in Adams County, are indicating they will be unable to do so.

”We don’t have any plans currently to provide distance learning or online options for our students,” said Pete Perez, assistant superintendent for the Othello School District. “I think it seems like a really good idea, but it’s very difficult to pull off, very difficult to do.”

Quincy School District Superintendent John Boyd said in a Friday interview that the district had been discussing the potential to move to digital learning, but wasn’t immediately certain whether it would be a viable option.

“I wouldn’t say we’re leaning towards it,” Boyd said. “I think we’re talking about how to do it in the future. There’s no simple, easy, quick solution to digital learning across a 450 square mile district like ours.”

Across the county, district officials indicated they would be meeting in the coming days to determine their plan of action, as well as the logistics involved in distributing meals.

In addition to school closures, the vast majority of scheduled events, including athletic practices, have been canceled across all school districts.