It may be quite sometime before students in Colorado see the inside of a classroom again. 

Students across the state of Colorado have gotten somewhat adjusted to online learning, and there's a possibility that they may be taking online classes when school returns next year.

Schools across Colorado will not return to in-person learning this year, and Governor Jared Polis held a conference call on Tuesday, April 21, and told all 178 public school district superintendents that they should "prepare for the possibility" of not returning to a physical classroom until January 2021.

The conference call came after Polis announced on Monday that all "K-12 school districts and postsecondary institutions will continue to suspend normal in-person instruction until the end of the school year."  Though many districts had made the decision themselves to keep in-person instruction closed for the remainder of this academic year, Polis had not made a formal statewide decision until Monday.

Slide from Monday's press conference presentation by Governor Jared Polis. 

The announcement came in a slide presentation on Monday and caused the superintendents to ask for some clarification. This was further discussed during the statewide conference call on Tuesday. While no formal declaration or decision has been made regarding the next school year, the governor recommended districts begin to develop plans and proposals for longer-term distance and online learning.

He also advised that the plans include staggered start times and new formats for times like lunch, recess, passing periods, and other times of day students interact with others, so that these activities and times are scheduled and follow proper social distancing measures. 

Districts hope for more guidance and information as they move forward, unsure of where the situation will go.

Colleges and universities statewide are also facing the decision of when to return to in-person classes and allow students who live on campus to return to dorms.

Of course, any decision will be based on the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, and as we have learned, that's an ever-changing landscape. Regardless of whether it's online or in-person, education in Colorado will go on, though it may look and feel a lot different for quite some time. 

How do you feel about the possibility of public-school students in Colorado not returning to in-person learning until January 2021? Do you think it's even possible to get back to the traditional classroom setting most students are used to? We want to hear how this will affect you and your children in the comments.