Michigan’s harsh winter and school closings: What to know

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan (bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter here.

• Tough winter means lots of canceled school days
• Superintendents can cancel school six times without penalty before needing approval from the state
• So far, 15 school districts have requested state waivers for additional emergency days

With warmer weather forecast, there’s some relief for schools where extreme cold and snow have wreaked havoc on the school calendar. 

Superintendents across the state weigh several factors when deciding whether to call off school. That includes weather forecasts, road conditions, staffing trends and other districts’ actions. 

In Northern Michigan, Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools Superintendent 

Katy Xenakis-Makowski, has already called eight snow days this year. That’s a lot, but still less than last year when the district called off normal snow days and then had to call off more because of an April ice storm. 

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“We appreciate people who understand what a difficult decision it is: weighing staff and student safety against the need to be in school. It’s not a decision that any superintendent makes lightly.” 

Here’s what to know about snow days by the numbers.

How much school is required by law?

Michigan school districts must have 1,098 hours and 180 days.

How many snow days are schools allowed to have?

Michigan school districts can cancel school for up to six days for unforeseen circumstances such bad weather or a maintenance issue. 

What if a school district needs more days? 

Districts can request a waiver for up to three days from the Michigan Department of Education. After that, they have to make up the time by adding more days to the school calendar. 

How many school districts have requested waivers so far?

 There are 15 school districts who have requested waivers so far, according to MDE. That’s out of roughly 800.

School leaders often wait until the late spring to submit their requests. 

Is this weather particularly bad?

Total snowfall is up compared to a normal year near Gaylord and Detroit, according to the National Weather Service. But February isn’t the end of the winter.

“If you take a snapshot now, it’s been severe, said NWS Detroit meteorologist Steve Freitag. But Freitag cautions there’s still nearly six weeks left in the winter.

“Once we get this warmer weather in February and March turns out to be nice, that will be a distant memory.” 

What about low student attendance? 

Parents who brave the roads to get students to school may choose to keep a student home even if school is in session.

But too many students can trigger a different issue. 

Schools get financially penalized if less than 75% of students show up for school on any given day. Last year, there were 162 school districts that faced potential penalties for low student attendance, Bridge previously reported. Ultimately, this cost districts a total of $11.5 million. 

What happens when schools are out? 

Lessons get pushed back when school doesn’t occur.In Pontiac, Superintendent Kimberly Leverette said the district moved testing for English language learners and moved the start of the second semester for high school students.

“Balancing safety, learning time, and state requirements isn’t always easy, but our goal is to make careful decisions that protect students while keeping schools on track,” Leverette said in an email to Bridge.

In Benton Harbor, the district has used four emergency days, prompting the district to extend the testing window for third grade through 12th grade students, superintendent Simone Griffin said.