How Tarrant County schools determine when to close due to winter weather, icy conditions
Many North Texas school districts remained open on Monday until the afternoon, despite winter weather conditions impacting parts of the area that morning.
A winter storm warning was issued for North Texas early Monday. MedStar responded to 49 roadway incidents between 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. that morning including four rollovers.
Some area school districts in north Tarrant County, like Birdville ISD and Carroll ISD, announced early dismissals for Monday in the middle of the school day and later announced district closures for Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon , several districts have announced closures continuing through Wednesday.
Are school districts required to open for a set amount of time?
With the passing of House Bill 2610 in 2015, Texas public schools have to provide a minimum of 75,600 minutes of instruction per school year. The minimum minutes requirement replaced the previous 180-day requirement.
The Texas Education Code also includes that TEA commissioner Mike Morath can approve an instruction minimum lower than 75,600 minutes for schools impacted by “a disaster, flood, extreme weather condition, fuel curtailment, or other calamity” causing school closure.
How does attendance factor in to instruction minimums?
House Bill 2610 did not change attendance procedures outlined in the Texas Education Code.
According to the education code, students must be scheduled for and provided with instruction at least two hours each day — excluding lunch and recess — to be eligible to be coded for half-day attendance. For a full-day attendance, students must be provided with at least four hours of instruction.
When does weather impact school closures?
School closures or early dismissals during inclement weather are often dependent on how districts assess forecasts and roadway conditions.
Tarrant County school district officials updated parents on social media Monday that they were monitoring weather conditions and would make decisions based on the forecast.
Aledo ISD announced it was closed early Monday morning due to “inclement weather and quickly deteriorating road conditions” and did not open its campuses.
Birdville ISD officials said their decision to release high school and middle school students early Monday was “made in the interest of student and staff safety after consulting with the National Weather Service and Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management.”
“When possible, the District releases elementary students last,” Birdville ISD officials said in a statement. “This is for families where an older sibling may be responsible for the care of a younger brother or sister until parents get off work, or for parents who are unable to adjust their normal work schedule at the last minute.”
Other districts like Mansfield ISD, HEB ISD and Carroll ISD also announced staggered early dismissals due to inclement weather forecasts.
Fort Worth ISD, Burleson ISD and Crowley ISD followed regular dismissal times on Monday but announced that parents could pick up their students early at any time.
Fort Worth ISD will follow normal dismissal times for Monday, Jan. 30. Parents may pick up students from campus early and it will not count against the student's attendance. FWISD will announce if schools are closed tomorrow by 5 p.m. today. https://t.co/5dzKon8L7y pic.twitter.com/cNkIXEanXs
— Fort Worth Independent School District (@FortWorthISD) January 30, 2023
Crowley ISD’s inclement weather plan outlines the following factors district officials assess before altering a regular school day schedule:
Information on all road conditions, including rural bus routes and whether buses and cars can safely travel
Existing accumulation of snow and ice
Rate and expected duration of precipitation
Parking lot and sidewalk conditions
Weather predictions
Will schools have to make up days due to the winter storm?
Make-up days for missed school this week could look different depending on the school district.
Carroll ISD is one district that said its academic calendar reflected sufficient operational minutes to satisfy the required TEA instruction minimum. The district’s staff and students will not be required to make up for district closures on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Fort Worth ISD students will not have to make up days either. District officials said Tuesday that additional minutes to accommodate inclement weather days are built into the district’s calendars and no make-up days will be required.
For Students: Additional minutes to accommodate inclement weather days are built into the Traditional, Intersessional, and Early College High School District calendars. No make-up days will be required for lost instructional minutes.
— Fort Worth Independent School District (@FortWorthISD) January 31, 2023
