It’s unlikely that public school campuses across the state will reopen this school year, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in a letter to county superintendents on Tuesday.

“Due to the current safety concerns and needs for ongoing social distancing it currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year,” wrote Thurmond, California’s highest-ranking public education official. “This is in no way to suggest that school is over for the year, but rather we should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning.”

Thurmond stressed that he isn’t issuing a statewide directive, but it’s likely that most school districts, including the Long Beach Unified School District, will take the letter that way.

The LBUSD’s Board of Education will have a closed session meeting Wednesday prior to its regularly scheduled board meeting, which will be conducted digitally, with board members calling in for a publicly viewable Zoom meeting.

The district currently has announced a closure through May 4.