FRANKFORT, Ky. — Schools in Kentucky will have to resume some form of in-person learning by the end of the month.

Gov. Andy Beshear signed House Bill 208 on Thursday, not even an hour after the House voted to concur with changes made to the bill in the Senate.

Because state funding is tied to in-person attendance, Beshear said he had to sign it.

“Our schools would have lost the dollars that they absolutely must have to provide for the education of our children,” Beshear said.

The bill, which is only the second piece of legislation Beshear has signed this session, requires schools to be open for in-person learning four days a week, while offering each student at least two days of face-to-face instruction per week.

It also lets schools use attendance figures from before the pandemic to receive state funds.

Rep. Regina Huff (R-Williamsburg) says some students and teachers have been pleading to return to the classroom.

“They should have had the opportunity to return. This allows them to return,” Huff said. “It allows those students to have face-to-face contact with teachers for the first time since March of last year, and that is a priority and of importance to me.”

Some Republicans — including a few who voted for House Bill 208 — wish it included more in-person learning.

“My elementary-age granddaughter is extremely upset that she’s not going to get to go back to school five days a week,” said Rep. Jerry Miller (R-Eastwood).

And even though some Democrats worried about taking away local control, others were in favor of the bill.

“We’ve been dealing with a pandemic for a year,” said Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville). “We’re going to have to learn how to live with it, and sometimes we’re going to have to make that step and open schools.”

So far, Beshear has sued Republican legislative leaders over more bills than he has signed this legislative session.

The lawsuit he filed involves three bills that would limit his ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in some way: House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, and Senate Bill 2.

In response to a question about that lawsuit during Thursday’s coronavirus briefing, Beshear said talks with lawmakers have been good on other issues.

“Obviously, everybody’s anxiety is up, including mine. I’m not the only person in Frankfort that’s had kids learning virtually at different points,” Beshear said. “And everybody’s life has been turned a little upside down, so hopefully the quality of our discussions can continue.”

Each school district must have a plan to start in-person learning by March 29, and those plans are subject to approval by the state’s education commissioner.

If a school has to close due to an outbreak of COVID-19, students may have to make up those days at the end of the year. A previous version of the bill gave schools more flexibility to close if the daily rate of new coronavirus cases was more than 25 per 100,000 people in the surrounding area.