Md. Board Of Education To Allow School Snow Day Waivers

The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to allow school systems to request waivers for as many as five days of instruction that were lost to inclement weather this year, meaning that many school systems could avoid having to extend the school year.

The board voted to allow the State Superintendent of Schools, Lillian M. Lowery, to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the state’s 24 school systems will be allowed to forgo between one and five days of the year’s required 180 school days. The requests, if granted, could reduce the number of days districts need to tack on to the end of the year — or reclaim from scheduled vacations — to meet the state’s required minimum amount of class.

Some districts, including Montgomery County, already have submitted requests for waivers asking that they be allowed to do away with make-up days that could otherwise extend school into another week of June. Montgomery County has closed school 10 times as a result of snow and cold and had just four days built into the regular schedule. 
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