What happens in Ohio when snow and bad weather force school districts to cancel classes, and how do they have to make them up?
In 2014, Ohio changed the amount of time kids must spend in school from days to hours, eliminating the need for makeup days.
Under state law, districts are required to have at least 1,001 hours for grades seven through 12 and 910 hours for the lower grades, including all-day kindergarten. Half-day kindergarteners must be in school at least 455 hours each school year.
Schools can schedule more hours above the minimum number required each day to accommodate snow days or other times when school is unexpectedly canceled, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW). Hours missed above the required minimum do not have to be made up.
Columbus City Schools, for example, schedules 1,051 hours for grades seven through 12.
How does it work?
According to the ODEW, here are two examples of how it could work:
High School ‘A:’
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The schedule for High School A is to be open for instruction for 1,001 hours, the minimum required not factoring excess hours.
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During the winter, bad weather forces the school to close for 32 hours.
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High School A is required to make up the 32 hours of missed instruction.
High School ‘B:’
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The schedule for High School B is to be open for instruction for 1,040 hours. This gives the school 39 excess hours, which are hours above the minimum.
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During the winter, bad weather forces the school to close for 32 hours.
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High School B is not required to make up the 32 hours of missed instruction. It still has seven excess hours remaining for the year.
Can schools use virtual days or ‘blizzard bags’ to make up hours?
If a district falls below the minimum hours of instructions, one way to make up the hours missed below the minimum required is a plan that requires students to access and complete classroom lessons online, according to the ODEW.
School districts need to adopt a plan to make up hours in that school year when it is necessary to close school before the school year starts, according to the ODEW. The plan should explain how the school will make up the missed hours — for at least the equivalent of three scheduled days that they would fall behind.
Districts and schools may use online day plans, otherwise known as blizzard bags, when it is necessary to close the school because of:
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Hazardous weather conditions
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Law enforcement emergencies
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Inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school’s operation;
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Damage to a school building
Cbehrens@dispatch.com
@Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here are Ohio’s rules for when schools need to make up snow days