How many snow days do Middle Tennessee schools have?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When the winter storm dumped multiple inches of snow and ice on Tennessee, area school districts closed to keep students and parents safe.
But not all school districts have the luxury of taking a whole week off. Some districts only have a few allotted days built into their calendars for inclement weather, and the possibility of having to make them up at the end of the year is high.
How much snow did Middle Tennessee get Jan. 14-15?
State law dictates every public school in Tennessee has 180 days of classroom instruction of at least 6.5 hours each. However, state law also allows the Commissioner of Education to waive the 180-day requirement “in the event of a natural disaster or serious outbreaks of illnesses affecting or endangering students or staff during a school year.”
The law was amended after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to waive the 180-day requirement for the entirety of the 2019-2020 school year, as schools closed in March and sent students home before the school year concluded.
Here is how some Middle Tennessee school districts fare when it comes to snow days.
Cheatham County Schools
According to Cheatham County Schools officials, the district has 13 stockpile days built into the calendar to use. If the district were to deplete all 13, the district would have to review the calendar and determine if/when any days would need to be made up.
Maury County Schools
Maury County Schools has nine inclement weather days built into its calendar, according to Communications Director Jack Cobb. If the district closes school for 10 or more days, it must add to its calendar by either adding days at the end of the school year or by shortening scheduled breaks or holidays.
Metro Nashville Public Schools
According to spokesperson Sean Braisted, MNPS has six inclement weather days built into the calendar for the 2023-2024 school year. After closing for this week, there will be two remaining. If the district goes beyond six closures, potential makeup days have been designated for the district in February (Feb. 19) and March (March 5, 24, 28-31).
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Rutherford County Schools
According to Communications Officer James Evans, Rutherford County Schools (RCS) began the week with nine inclement weather days in reserve. So far, the district has used three of them through Thursday, Jan. 18. Should the district use more than the six remaining stockpile days, the district would either have to request a waiver from the Tennessee Department of Education or make up the days.
Evans added the district has not used all the allotted stockpile days in his 20 years with Rutherford County Schools.
Tullahoma City Schools
Communications Specialist Zach Birdsong told News 2 the district has 13 stockpile days built into its calendar, though it uses 10.5 of them for professional development. The remaining 2.5 days are set aside for inclement weather and illness outbreaks, if needed. Once the district uses all of the stockpile days, it makes up the overage by eliminating early release days from its calendar. With the full week of closures, the district must now end the early release days “sooner rather than later.” All changes to the calendar will be communicated to parents, Birdsong said.
Williamson County Schools
Executive Director of Communications Carol Birdsong told News 2 Williamson County Schools has 10 stockpile days built into its calendar and has only used two so far, being closed Tuesday, Jan. 15, and Wednesday, Jan. 16.
Wilson County Schools
According to Bart Barker with Wilson County Schools, the district began the year with 12 stockpile days built into its calendar. With three of them used this week for snow closures, Wilson County Schools will have nine more remaining for the rest of the year. At this point, Barker told News 2, “It’s too early how that would be handled, should we utilize all of our stockpile days.”
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Another round of wintry precipitation is expected to hit Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky Thursday night into Friday. Some school districts have already made the call to be closed all week, like Metro Nashville.
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