State Rep. Parker Fairbairn this week announced a plan to forgive up to four additional snow days for schools that closed due to a mid-March winter storm. The storm, which occurred between March 12 and 17, buried much of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula in record-breaking snowfall, as well as several in the lower peninsula in layers of ice. This placed significant strain on local communities and school districts. Many roads were impassable, and schools were forced to shut down for several days.

“The normal allotment of snow days is set with a reasonable expectation of typical winter weather,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “However, this is the second consecutive year of unusually severe storms resulting in more days on which student instruction could not be provided in school districts throughout  Northern Michigan and the U.P., and while I believe that, as a rule, missed days need to be made up for the benefit of students, I think that there needs to be an option that, under exigent circumstances, schools can make the decision to seek exceptions to the rule.”

State law allows schools to have up to six snow days per year, which is typically sufficient for them to provide students with the instructional time needed to complete the curriculum and maintain their schedules. While this year, without additional “snow days,” districts may have to extend their schedules further into the summer, impacting maintenance, building and other contracted work schedules, as well as the plans of the student’s families.

“Given the demands of summer jobs, school maintenance, and family commitments, forgiving up to four additional days is a reasonable solution, providing individual districts the option to adjust instructional hours as the community sees fit,” Fairbairn said.

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