In Howard County, the days that public school students get off school for inclement weather must be made up at the end of the year, cutting into summer vacation time. My proposition is that when a state of emergency is declared — for example in a large snowstorm, hurricane or other natural disaster — students should not have to make up those missed school days.
These make-up days should not be assigned because a state of emergency can suspend certain rights, and it may be deemed unsafe for people to leave their homes. In this instance it would mean that it was deemed unsafe to go to school that day.
The Howard County Public School System Weekly Parent News recently announced that HCPSS was conducting a survey as to whether or not to build make-up days into the school system calendar so that missed school days are not made up during summer break. These missed days are unimportant (from a student's perspective) because no or little work is assigned and they are merely used to fill in the 180 assigned school days.
Cameron Coster
Marriottsville