The state’s public school systems need to have plans in place by April 1 as to how they want to improve learning that has struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday he is asking every school district “to formulate a specific plan aimed at the individual needs for each of their students.”

The state has $2 billion from the federal government for such efforts that could include longer school days, longer school years, tutoring, after-school programs as well as mental and physical health services. DeWine’s proposed budget also includes $1.1 billion for such programs but requires approval from the state Legislature.

Getting students back in class by March 1 is a priority for DeWine, who decided that adults in K-12 school should get the vaccine ahead of other groups. Those inoculations started last week.

In December, about 45 percent of the state’s schools had full remote learning with that down to 15 percent now as the number of COVID-19 cases has declined.

“We simply cannot fail these children,” DeWine said. “Each child in Ohio deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her full God-given potential, and we cannot allow this pandemic to get in the way of their ability to flourish.”

The pandemic has taken a toll on academic progress, DeWine said.

“This once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has impacted all of us, so it should be no surprise that it has impacted our children,” he said. “But we should not panic nor should we be surprised by the results of assessments.”

In addition to adults at schools, the state is focusing its vaccinations on those at least 65 years of age.

DeWine reiterated Tuesday that he doesn’t plan to drop the minimum age or add other specific groups for several more weeks.

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, 1,076,415 people in Ohio received at least the first of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, including 18,478 in the previous 24 hours. The number of people to receive at least the first dose is 9.21 percent of the state’s population.

In Mahoning County, 11.15 percent of the population (25,493 people) had received at least the first dose as of 6 a.m. Tuesday compared to 9.3 percent of Trumbull County’s population (18,408 people) and 9.1 percent of Columbiana County’s population (9,269 people), according to the Ohio Department of Health.

In Ohio, 2.79 percent of the population has received both doses as of 6 a.m. Tuesday. That’s 325,909 people, including 18,478 in the previous 24 hours.

In Mahoning County, 2.96 percent (6,764 people) had received both vaccinations as of 6 a.m. Tuesday with 2.11 percent of Trumbull’s population (4,179 people) and 2.38 percent of Columbiana’s population (2,428 people) getting both inoculations, according to the ODH.

Asked about mass vaccination locations, DeWine said the state has identified about 100 of them, but the first priority is to get multiple sites in every county.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com