MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce that he's ordering Minnesota schools to stay closed through the rest of the year amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The governor closed public and charter schools just over a month ago and directed them to switch to distance learning, a move that affected nearly 900,000 students and their families.

His order had been due to expire next Thursday, but he had said in recent days that he was likely to extend the shutdown through the rest of the school year.

Walz is expected to make the announcement at a news conference at 2 p.m.

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