ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Senate Thursday passed the "Snow Day Relief Bill" to fend off the prospects of children spending an extra week or two in school this summer.
A series of extreme winter weather events have led to so many cancellations around the state many districts won't be able to fit in all 165 instructional days required by state law.
The bill, authored by Sen. Carla Nelson of Rochester, would give local school boards the option of shortening their academic calendars this year only.
"Some districts have already had 10 snow days, that’s an additional two weeks in June, which could impact graduation, family vacations, summer school, construction projects at school," Sen. Nelson told KARE.
Her southern Minnesota district has been hit especially hard, but the bill doesn't mandate the same fix statewide.
"This is a local control issue – the school boards have to adopt a resolution to shorten their school calendar."
Districts that take advantage of the law would be required to report to the Minnesota Dept. of Education how many days they cut off the calendar.
They'd also be strongly encouraged to adopt e-Learning programs so that students could get some class work done on their snow days.
"These would be pre-planned days with digital curriculum and instruction that meets school standards," Nelson explained.
"You can’t do it on the fly. It takes planning and preparation with the school district and the teachers."
Nelson said her bill doesn't mandate e-Learning because some districts don't have the funding yet for the technology involved.
The bill passed by an overwhelming margin in the Senate, with only two "no" votes. The House version is still going through the committee process.