Replace snow days with remote learning at NJ schools, superintendent says
❄️ A Bayonne superintendent wants remote learning to count during weather closures.
🏫 New Jersey currently requires schools to provide 180 days of instruction.
💻 Some parents say kids should keep their traditional snow days.
BAYONNE — Fall has only just begun, but a local school superintendent is already asking Gov. Mikie Sherrill to change the rules for New Jersey snow days.
Parents are up in arms after Bayonne schools Superintendent John Niesz on Wednesday sent a letter to Sherrill, asking her to let districts implement remote learning days during inclement weather.
"Districts have developed strong remote instructional practices and infrastructure over recent years, and local leaders are well positioned to determine when remote learning is appropriate. Granting this flexibility would align New Jersey with surrounding states while maintaining high educational standards," Niesz said.
New Jersey rules don't count snow-day remote learning
Currently, New Jersey requires public schools to have students in classrooms for 180 days each school year. Remote learning days for inclement weather don't count toward that total.
There is an exception for schools that close for more than three consecutive days due to a state of emergency or a public health agency declaring a closure. In certain circumstances, virtual instruction can count toward the 180-day requirement.
Earlier this month, the Alexandria Township School in Hunterdon County was closed for mold. Some students learned remotely for nearly two weeks as restoration crews cleaned the building.
Last week, a Lindenwold elementary school went remote for a week due to a fire.
Some parents want their snow days back
Niesz's proposal has already generated a mixed reaction online, with some parents arguing that a snow day should remain a day off from school.
"Let kids enjoy the snow day...sleep in, play outside and then drink cocoa," said one woman on Facebook.
"Just go ahead and mark my kid absent," a father said.
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"Sometimes during a storm the Wi-Fi is not that great, just give students and faculty the day," said a second woman.
Another woman said remote learning had been particularly difficult for special education students and could leave teachers scrambling to prepare virtual lessons on short notice.
But one woman had an idea that went against the grain, suggesting that in-person instruction should go the way of the dodo.
"Remote learning should be the norm not the exception. We live in a techno world and every school supplies students with computers," she said.
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