Snow days are returning for St. Paul students — at least the first two times during the school year

Kids in St. Paul schools may once again be able to count on kicking back at home with no work when bad weather cancels class — at least the first two times it happens in a school year.

More than two years after St. Paul Public Schools approved e-learning when schools close due to inclement weather, district leaders on Tuesday approved an agreement with the St. Paul Federation of Educators guaranteeing the first two canceled class days will be free of online learning.

Teachers, educational assistants and community support professionals will now have what the district calls “non-instructional” days the first two times bad weather shuts down schools.

It’ll be up to the district’s discretion whether to call an e-learning day or cancel school following the second snow day.

District spokesperson Erica Wacker said the agreement on non-instructional days was required by a new state law.

The agreement goes into effect immediately. So while this winter has been mild so far, students will get to spend the day without having to check into class online the next time a blizzard keeps them home from school.

The growth of remote learning threatened to curb future snow days, though St. Paul schools had one as recently as last year.

In response to severe winter weather last February, St. Paul students stayed at home for three days. The first two were online education dates, and the third, a Friday, was a snow day.

The restoration of paid days off for school staff due to inclement weather comes as the St. Paul educators union and district continue to negotiate their upcoming contract.

SPFE President Leah VanDassor, who led a rally of hundreds of teachers outside the district office building before the meeting, declined to comment about the inclement weather agreement.

In 2021 the St. Paul district authorized e-learning on up to five days each school year when bad weather closes schools.

However, that move didn’t completely rule out the possibility of snow days. At the time, Superintendent Joe Gothard said the district might still cancel school in the event of bad weather immediately following winter break. Or in the case of last year, instruction got canceled on Friday to give families time to dig out from the storm.

Districtwide e-learning days became a reality after students got school district-issued iPads several years ago. And pandemic-era school closures already got many teachers and students used to learning from home.

State law lets school districts use five days of remote learning a school year to meet the minimum hours of instruction. Typically the district has five more school days than required to account for weather-related closures.

If school districts miss more than five days of instruction, they risk losing $40 of state funding per student per day.

In the 2018-19 school year, St. Paul Public Schools canceled seven days of classes in response to weather. That year, Gov. Tim Walz signed a law allowing schools to not meet required instruction hours because of an unusually severe winter.

Minneapolis Public Schools is currently weighing a return to snow days in the next school year. High school and middle school students would get two days off before e-learning, and elementary school students would get three.

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