Power outages from winter weather halts in-person class, virtual learning in North Texas schools
ARLINGTON, Texas - Widespread power outages from historic winter weather continues to disrupt school district schedules.
Not only are districts across North Texas cancelling in-person classes for Tuesday and Wednesday, many are also halting virtual learning as many students and teachers are without electricity.
Dallas ISD said it will return to virtual learning Thursday and be totally closed until then. Fort Worth ISD will not have classes or virtual learning for the next two days, as well. Arlington ISD will not hold in-person or virtual classes on Tuesday.
Arlington, Richardson and Grapevine ISDs have cancelled school on Tuesday but have not made a decision about Wednesday just yet.
Arlington ISD Trustee Dr. Aaron Reich says districts around the state are carefully weighing cancelations due to Texas Education Agency guidelines.
"The way the rules are in Texas, you are allowed two days for inclement weather or snow days if you will. Those are built into the calendar," he said. "Anything above and beyond that, basically you have to make up those minutes or those days in school."
Monday afternoon, the TEA decided to give school districts the discretion to cancel up to three school days without having to make them up.
Reich us pleased with the decision after pushing state leaders for the change.
"The demand on the power grid, it’s really a public safety concern," he said. "And so it was very important to reach out and try to make that adjustment so that families can worry about staying warm and staying safe."
Some districts are announcing their cancelled days all at once, while others may choose to do it one day at a time.
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