Snow Days Will Be Snow Days

By Grace Burton

Snow days in New Jersey can not go remote for the day, by law. New Jersey passed a law, which states that a school can not go remote learning due to weather conditions. The only expectation of this law is if a school is shut down for three consecutive days. Southern has had to follow this law back during the week of January third. Three snow days in the same week, but only two were consecutive days. With this, Southern had three snow days and no remote learning. Making Southern add extra days to the school year. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day became school days. There still is an extra day needed to make up, the decision has not been made. It can either be added to the end of the school year or taken away from Spring Break, which has happened before. Ms. Abbato even recalled a time when spring break was completely taken away. This law has had a constant effect and debate with educators, parents, school boards, and state officials. Yet, nothing is to change anytime soon.

With Covid, schools have adapted to remote learning. But why can’t schools do this with weather? Because it would not count for the 180 days of school. If a school did remote learning for one inclement weather day, the day would be a waste. Only if it was three days of inclement weather leading to remote learning. Why can’t schools do one day of remote learning? NJ Spotlight News found this answer from Dr. Norma Fernandez, deputy superintendent of Jersey City Public Schools, “At this time, it’s not an option for us to do a remote day on a weather emergency — snow day, storms, anything like that, it will not count toward the 180 days.” Most school board administrators agree with the idea that students have lost too much time and knowledge through remote learning. That it would be better to add an extra day to the end of the year of in person instruction than a remote learning day. Other school board administrators disagree with this idea, saying that learning remotely has improved with Covid. Then there’s others that believe schools should decide for their own, not enforced either way by the law. In NJ.com, Richard Buzz agrees with this idea, “This option should be available for school districts to consider,” Buzz is a part of the New Jersey Education Association. If the law changes or stays the same, there will always be those against it.

Will this law have an impact on future school years? Before Covid there were reasons for remote learning - hurricanes, snow storms, or emergencies. This Bill was requested in 2016 and 2018, both times rejected. This law not allowing virtual learning unless it has been three consecutive learning days has caused issues in the past just like it will in the future. And there is no idea as to make everyone happy, get the knowledge across, and have the weather last those three days. Learning remotely is beneficial in times when needed, it should be an option when needed. Just asking Southern students, they wished they had the virtual learning instead of the snow days. Ciara Miller, 11th grade, “I like snow days, don’t get me wrong, but why add an extra day when we can keep the original day? Maybe I will have to teach myself anything I don’t get over the lesson, but I already have to do it when I am in person. Going remote is not new, it’s not the best, but I know my way with it.” Most students agree, why take away a good learning day remotely and add it at the end of the year or take away spring break? For right now, this law seems like it will not be changing and it will be around for a bit longer. As stated earlier, not everyone will win with this law. However, understanding where it came from, why it exists, and how long it will last helps understand why snow days will remain snow days.