Emergency School Closings

The decision to close or delay school because of weather conditions is always for the entire division. Please keep in mind that the school district covers many square miles and weather conditions may vary greatly across the county. Even if it looks clear on your street, dangerous conditions may exist in other parts of the county.

Additionally, many operations within the division are interconnected with YCSD students participating in programs beyond their zoned schools. Therefore partial closings would not only be operationally inefficient, they would affect the division’s commitment to equitable services for all students.

Schools will dismiss in the normal order (high, middle, elementary) at times announced by the division. Students will be sent home in the usual manner (bus, child care, parent pick-up, etc.). We are sensitive to the fact that unscheduled early dismissals may create difficulties for families. Parents are asked to plan ahead for this possibility to avoid the need to contact schools with requests to alter individual student dismissal procedures in the midst of an emergency early dismissal.

If school schedules are altered due to weather conditions, activities scheduled before, during and after school will be impacted. Please refer to the Closings/Delays Impact on School Activities chart to determine the status of school activities scheduled for that particular day.

A two-hour delay means that the start of school is delayed for two hours; for example, if school normally starts at 8 a.m., then the delayed start time will be at 10 a.m. Please note that your child's bus pick-up time will be delayed by two hours as well. Please review the Weather Closings/Delays Impact chart for additional information.

For the most part, states in the northern and western regions of the U.S. have more snow-clearing capability because of the higher average snowfalls, making them better equipped to deal quickly with winter weather.

Multiple factors are considered prior to announcing a make-up plan for missed school days, such as the number of days/hours missed, when the missed days take place within the existing calendar and what available non-student days remain within the schedule calendar.

State law requires that school divisions make up the first five days missed, plus one day for each two days missed in excess of those five. Schools divisions are also required to provide a minimum of 180 school days or 900 instructional hours each school year. In addition, high school credit-bearing courses must meet a state-mandated 140 seat hour requirement.

The division does have the ability to make up that time through scheduling additional days or by adding additional instructional time to the existing calendar. The superintendent consults with staff immediately after weather-related closings to identify the impact the closings have made on meeting state requirements. Once this review and consideration of the options available take places, a decision to alter calendar or school schedules is made and announced.