The snow day tradition for New York City public school students is no more, Schools Chancellor David C. Banks said Tuesday.
During an interview on Fox 5’s Good Day New York, Banks said that snow days or bad weather days would no longer be practiced in NYC public schools when the new school year starts this week.
Instead, all instruction will shift online for students and teachers on days when the city’s hit with inclement winter weather or public emergencies that requires all school buildings to be shut down.
Call it the silver lining from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Banks. The city’s shift to digital classrooms at the height of the pandemic in 2020 opened the door for students to receive virtual instruction whenever they cannot make it physically to school.
“There are technically no more snow days,” Chancellor Banks said during his interview on Sept. 6. “With the new technology that we have – that’s one of the good things that came out of COVID – if a snow day comes around, we want to make sure that our kids continue to learn. So, sorry kids! No more snow days, but it’s gonna be good for you!”
New York State law mandates that students must attend class 180 out of 365 days, which means the switch to a digital alternative to canceling school altogether allows schools to meet the mandate.
The first day of public school instruction in NYC begins Thursday, Sept. 8, with the first scheduled school holidays occurring on Sept. 26-27, in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
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