Harford Co. Schools Make Schedule Decision For Jan. 26, 27

BEL AIR, MD — All Harford County Public Schools buildings will be closed on Monday, Jan. 26, and Tuesday, Jan. 27, due to the snowstorm and adverse travel conditions.

No afterschool or evening activities will be held. Essential personnel should await further instruction, a district notice said Sunday afternoon.

Due to the closure, second quarter has been extended until Friday, Jan. 30. Canvas semester courses will continue to be open until Friday, Jan. 30.

The Board of Education Public Business Meeting, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, has been cancelled. Any items previously on the agenda for the business meeting on Jan. 26, will now occur on Feb. 9. This means the previously scheduled work session on Feb. 9, will be switched to a board business meeting.

The Board of Education Closed Session previously scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. and will be held virtually, with the open proceedings available via live stream on hcps.org.

"We ask that the community not use school property like fields, tracks, or hills at this time as facilities staff deal with limited visibility and utilize heavy equipment to clear HCPS property," the district said.

Related:

• Wintry Mix Falling As MD Winter Storm Continues: Updated Snow Totals, Forecast
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Inclement Weather Policy

All public schools in Harford County will be closed on days when roads, school parking lots and/or school driveways/walkways are considered unsafe for school bus transportation or student/staff use. The decision to close is made by the superintendent of schools as early as possible. If a closure or delay is necessary on the day of an inclement weather event, efforts will be made to distribute that information by 5 a.m. The determination is made after consulting with the state police, the HCPS transportation office, the sheriff’s office, the state and county highway departments and other sources of information in different parts of the county.

Some weather conditions make it advisable to delay the opening time of schools. In such situations, the delayed prekindergarten plan will be in effect for half day programs

• If schools are delayed one hour, morning half-day prekindergarten will start at 10:00 a.m.: afternoon half-day prekindergarten will proceed as originally scheduled; and fourth tier schools will begin at 10:30 a.m. Full day kindergarten programs will follow the school system schedule.
• If schools are delayed two hours, there will be no morning half-day prekindergarten or early intervention programs; afternoon half-day prekindergarten will proceed as originally scheduled; and fourth tier schools will begin at 11:30 a.m. Full day prekindergarten programs will follow the school system schedule.
• If schools have a scheduled teachers’ planning/early dismissal and there is a two-hour delay, students will NOT be dismissed early but remain in school for the regular school day.

Any change from the normal school schedule as a result of inclement weather will be communicated through our rapid telephone notification system, email, text message, Facebook, Twitter and provided to radio and television stations for broadcast. In addition, changes to the normal schedule will be listed on the HCPS website at www.hcps.org.

Parents/guardians always have the right to not send their children to school if they feel travel conditions are unsafe. The student will be marked as lawfully absent.

Announcements will only be made when there is an unscheduled change to the schools operating schedule. No telephone calls or media announcements will be made when schools are operating on a normal schedule. In order to keep school telephone lines open for emergency calls, parents/guardians are urged not to call the school concerning closings or delays. This information will be reported as soon as possible using the communication vehicles listed above.