February 17, 2020

From the Office of the Superintendent

TCSS will not have to make up the day of school that was missed on Tuesday, February 11, due to weather. The State Superintendent of Education approved our request for a wavier for this day. Below are a few guidelines to know about a situation like this one.

• When the Governor declares a State of Emergency that covers Tuscaloosa County, we can make the request for relief and the law provides that as long as the State Superintendent also approves, the day does not have to be made up.
• When we close schools on our own (as we did February 11), the day for students and employees has to be made up. As we have done for the past several years, we build at least one additional day over the minimum required instructional hours (1,080 in a school year) into our academic calendar. Therefore, if our Board of Education approves the request and the State Superintendent approves it as well, we do not have to make that day up.
• For the remainder of our school year, if we have to close for another day that is not covered under a Governor’s State of Emergency, we would have to make the day up. The Superintendent would develop a plan for a make-up day and have it approved by the Board.
• TCSS does not make decisions about school closures based on any consideration of whether or not we will have to make up the day. It will always be what we believe, based on the best information available to us, as to whether or not we can have a safe day at school, including travel to and from home.