Amid prospect of future snow days, Lawrence school district watchful of instructional hours

Share this post or save for later

The Lawrence school district is anticipating more snow days this winter that could result in having to make up instructional hours.

Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift said Monday that students, staff and families should, for now, plan to be in school on Monday, April 21. That’s the one inclement weather makeup day on the district’s board-approved calendar for 2024-25.

Considering it’s early in the season to have already had four snow days that all occurred the first week of classes after winter break, the district is looking ahead.

“I want to remind people that it’s still early, and there is a likelihood we will have future snow days this year,” board member Bob Byers said. “And with that in mind, always remember for staff and students that the time will likely need to be made up.”

Schools must meet a certain number of instructional hours per year to meet state minimums and keep their accreditation. The Kansas State Department of Education forgives local districts the same number of inclement weather hours or days they build into their calendars and use.

Swift said the district will look out for additional communication from the state. KSDE may take action to support local districts given the recent winter storm that impacted several Kansas schools the same as Lawrence. 

The district built more instructional time into the 2024-25 calendar than last year’s, which Swift said puts the district in a better position now. 

Board members and Swift expressed gratitude to the facilities and operations staff for their work to clear snow and prepare for school to be back in session Monday. Board member Anne Costello added that the human resources department ensured classified staff members were paid on the snow days.

“I think that is really important, and I think it sends a strong message for our commitment to our staff when can do things like that,” Costello said.

School cancellations for inclement weather are determined by several factors, and safety is priority, Swift said.

“We make that decision based on whether 89 school buses can make their multiple routes, whether students can safely stand at a bus stop and wait for their buses,” Swift said. “We will follow the same rubric we always follow. We do that without fear or favor or without taking a look over at how many days we’ve taken.”

The district commits to announcing any adjustments to the school calendar related to inclement weather days no later than the start of spring break, March 14. Another update to the board and community will come in February, or more frequently if necessary.

The update was for informational purposes only, so the board did not take any action on it Monday.

In other business:

• New cell phone policy now in effect: Beginning this month, Lawrence students are not allowed to access their cell phones during school, with some exceptions.

All cell phones and other personal electronic devices “must be turned off and stored out of sight” during instructional time, according to a new policy the board approved in December. Instructional time is defined in it as time “a student spends receiving instruction in a school setting.”

Read more about the policy in this article.

• School board recognition: District administrators on Monday recognized January as School Board Appreciation Month. Board President Kelly Jones, Vice President GR Gordon-Ross and members Byers, Carole Cadue-Blackwood, Costello, Yolanda Franklin and Shannon Kimball are elected officials who serve on an unpaid, voluntary basis.

“So I just want to say that we honor you all,” Swift said. “You are parents, our grandparents, our neighbors, our colleagues, and yet you are individuals who show extraordinary dedication to our children, to our teachers and staff, to the parents and the community of Lawrence Public Schools.”

If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters


Click here to learn more about our newsletters first

Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

Latest Lawrence news:

MORE …

Previous Article

Kansas Legislature convenes 2025 session with emboldened Republican supermajority

Next Article

Lawrence library to host several events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day