SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – The South Dakota Board of Regents has determined the spring academic calendars for the state’s universities will remain unchanged, despite a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the state. The regents have agreed to maintain a spring semester with 77 class days starting Jan. 11 and ending May 7.

The regents’ executive director Brian Maher says university and board officials initially thought about adjusting the semester in the wake of the pandemic, but that drew mixed reactions. Spring break will be March 8-12. Each university will observe official holidays on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day, and no classes will be held on Good Friday.