WARREN – The Ohio Education Association is calling for immediate suspension of all in-person student instruction through Jan. 11 due to surging COVID-19 numbers.

In a prepared statement, the OEA announced this recommendation was adopted by the union’s board of directors late last week.

As a result, the union now is calling for all Ohio schools to offer remote instruction or suspend instruction altogether with an extended school year until at least Jan. 11. The union argues the move would “allow for a statewide post-holiday quarantine period and a safe restart of in-person instruction at the conclusion of that period.”

The OEA also states that prior to reopening, schools should be required to receive a sign-off for their instructional model and staff safety plans from local boards of health. The OEA is calling for all schools that fail to receive that approval to remain remote.

For more on this story, read Tuesday’s edition.