SASBO Friends,

Upon the recommendation of the Center for Disease and Prevention, the SASBO board has made the hard decision to cancel the April 21-23, 2020 conference.

All hotel reservations made at the Louisville Marriott through the SASBO link will be cancelled and full refunds of registration fees will be mailed to your preferred address in your membership profile on sasbo.org, unless you notify me differently.

Hang on to your Kentucky Derby attire because SASBO plans to return there in 2023!

Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you April 20 - 22, 2021 in Biloxi, MS.

Sandy Halliwell, Executive Director
Southeastern Association of School Business Officials
P O Box 524, Clinton, MS 39060
601-941-5747

Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grades will stay off school campuses until at least April 15 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they will begin some type of online or remote instruction March 30, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a news conference Tuesday.

DeSantis said he and Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran were waiving state testing requirements for the school year and the requirements that students must take the test to graduate or advance to the next grade.

"Parents may at their discretion choose to keep their child in the same grade for the 2021 school year," DeSantis said.

In a dramatic step to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all bars and nightclubs to shut down at 5 p.m. Tuesday for the next 30 days, and required restaurants to cut their crowd capacity in half.

The announcement came on St. Patrick's Day, one of the most profitable days of the year for many nightlife establishments across the country, including Florida. 

Later Tuesday, he announced major decisions affecting K-12 education, including extending public schools closures to April 15 and canceling required standardized state testing this year. He said parents may hold their students back a year and that teaching hours could be modified. 

DeSantis also disclosed that four University of Florida students tested positive for the virus, including at least one who had traveled internationally. Others may have visited New York and other "hot zones," he said.

And he ordered folks going to the beach to go in groups of 10 or smaller and keep at least six feet away from other groups, and support beach closures by local authorities.

Out of an abundance of caution and to assist with our nation’s preventive efforts in regards to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Universal Orlando Resort’s theme parks and Universal CityWalk are temporarily closed. Universal Orlando’s hotels will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 20.

We anticipate remaining closed through March 31 – but will continue to evaluate the situation.

We are working hard to take care of the needs of our guests and team members. We have created flexible programs for guests who have booked travel packages, tickets or accommodations with us.

Guests can call this number for more information: (877) 801-9720. We anticipate heavy call volume over the next several days and we appreciate our guests’ patience as we work hard to respond to all inquiries.

We will continue to monitor this ongoing situation and follow the guidance of the appropriate health agencies. We recommend that you check back with us prior to visiting.