On March 12, DeWine announced that all schools from K-12 would close for a 3-week break, starting March 16;[38] he was the first governor to announce statewide school closings.[2] The Ohio Department of Education updated their guidelines for ensuring schoolchildren received meals, announcing that each district would make independent decisions about providing reduced and free breakfast and lunch to students during the break but encouraging districts to ensure needs were met and stating the department would continue to reimburse districts for meals served during the closure.[39]