snow days

Why virtual learning is ruining the snow day experience for some New Jersey kids

One New Jersey school district took an unusual approach with how to handle this

Online school days are now allowed only due to pandemic-related reasons, but a Senate committee endorsed a bill allowing them for weather and other emergencies.

It's practical. It's pragmatic. And it's a terrible idea.

Traditionally, an official school day in New Jersey is constituted by an in-school presence, but that was clouded by the COVID-era stipulation that three or more days of a health emergency would allow virtual days to count.

Thanks to the snow, school districts are now scrambling to meet the state legal requirement of being open 180 days each school year, which will cut into summer.

Here's a list of a few essentials that every New Jerseyan should have handy in case of a snowstorm.

Strange but true: Here we are in the middle of January, and New Jersey hasn't had a single significant snowfall so far this winter. That means Garden State schools haven’t had to declare any snow days at all.

Another round of snow this week forced schools to close across New Jersey, and if Mother Nature keeps pounding the state, more districts will have to hold classes on days that were originally scheduled as part of spring or summer break.

With winter only a few months away, there is growing interest in allowing New Jersey school districts to replace snow days with cyber school days.