Hoeven Advises Districts on School Cancellation Policy

Press Release

Hoeven Advises Districts on School Cancelation (sic) Policy

Governor Will Waive Days in Excess of Districts' Regular Storm Days

Because of record snowfalls and severe weather in some parts of North Dakota this year, Gov. John Hoeven today advised school districts that he will waive school days canceled due to inclement weather above their regular allotted number of snow days.

Most districts have a fixed number of built-in weather related closure days and other extra school days to make up lost time due to emergencies, but once those days have been used up, school districts can make application to the Department of Public Instruction to request a waiver from the Governor. The form can be obtained online at http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/forms/sfn51826.pdf.

"Superintendents are authorized to cancel school based on weather conditions when necessary for safety reasons. They use their best judgment before making a local decision to cancel school, but in some school districts this winter that has meant exhausting the number of days set aside for severe weather," Hoeven said. "We will waive school days where necessary, if a district is unable to make all of them up. None of us wants children on the roads when bad weather sets in, and we encourage school officials to rely on reports from the U.S. Weather Service and alerts and road condition reports from Highway Patrol to make their determination."

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