Florida schools can cut back year by 2 days due to Hurricane Irma

FLORIDA – Florida schools forced to close due to Hurricane Irma can trim their academic calendar by two days.

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on Tuesday sent a memo to school superintendents regarding school time lost due to the deadly storm. Some schools across the state were closed for more than a week due to the hurricane.

Florida law requires schools to operate 180 days a year, or up to 720 hours for kindergarten through third grade and 900 hours for all other grades.

In her memo, Stewart said she would authorize waiving up to two days due to the storm.

But districts that want more time waived will have to ask for permission from the state by Oct. 16.

Orange County Public Schools plans to use Oct. 27 and Nov. 20 as make-up days. Seminole County Public Schools will use Oct. 16 and 17 as make-up days.

Volusia County Schools plans to make up one full day then cancel three early release days. Students will be in class Oct. 17, which was originally scheduled to be a teacher duty day, and early release will not be held on Dec. 6, 13 and 20 as was originally scheduled.

Osceola County superintendent Debra Pace is recommending that Dec. 22 and May 22 be used as make-up days and that early release be canceled on Oct. 11, March 7, April 18, April 25, May 2 and May 9.

Polk County Public Schools will also be eliminating early release days from the schedule. Oct. 11, Nov. 15, Jen. 24, Feb. 7, March 14 and May 16 will now be full instructional days.


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