Students May Have to Make Up Snow Days

For the rest of the school year in , each snow day could mean an extra day of class in June.

Friday’s calamity day for the pushed it over the state’s three-day maximum. The district used its third and final calamity day earlier this month, meaning today's snow day could be tacked on to the end of the school year.

Ohio reduced the number of snow days from five to three this school year.

The number could change back, though. Two state representatives have introduced legislation to reinstate five calamity days into the school year, and a state senator is pushing a bill that would allow districts to make up the time with longer school days, instead of additional school days.

School officials consider a number of factors in deciding whether to close schools, including the amount of snow, road conditions, impact on the bus fleet, temperature and weather forecast for the day.

Christine Gordillo, the spokeswoman for the Lakewood School District, said original plan was to make up the fourth calamity day on Presidents’ Day.

“But we didn’t have our fourth before then,” she said. 

With classes in the district originally slated to end June 8, the following day (a Thursday) is expected to be the make-up day.

But things may change by then — especially if the law retroactively addresses the earlier calamity days.

 “I think that’s what al of school districts are hoping for,” Gordillo said.