Most Triangle school districts don’t have to make up snow days. But Wake does. Here’s why
Several Triangle school districts have been able to avoid so far making up lost school days by having students take classes at home for remote instruction.
Durham Public Schools, Johnston County, Chatham County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro are among the school districts who’ve used a combination of remote instruction and banked instructional time to cover all the days when in-person classes were canceled.
An exception is Wake County, which hasn’t used any remote instruction days. The majority of Wake schools have run out of banked time so students will now have to come in for weather makeup days.
Here’s a look at how the weather has been impacting Triangle students.
At least 1,025 hours of instruction for students
Under state law, school districts are required to have at least 185 days of classes or 1,025 hours of instruction each school year. Schools typically use the hour requirement and schedule fewer than 185 days of classes.
All schools build in more than 1,025 hours of instruction into their calendar. These extra hours are called “banked” instructional time that a school can afford not to make up if classes are canceled.
The amount of banked time can vary by school. But schools typically open the school year with at least three days of banked instructional time..
In addition, state law allows schools to use up to five remote instruction days each school year to meet time requirements. Schools typically save these remote learning days for emergencies such as when bad weather leads to in-person classes being canceled.
Remote learning day planned in some districts
Triangle school districts have had to cancel in-person classes due to Hurricane Helene in September and snow storms in January and this week.
On Wednesday, Durham Public Schools, Johnston County, Orange County, Chatham County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro switched to remote learning days in lieu of in-person classes. Those same five districts also announced they’d have a remote learning day on Thursday.
Some districts are continuing remote learning on Friday.
Wednesday through Friday will only be true snow days in Wake County, where no work was assigned to students.
No makeup days yet in some Triangle districts
Students in Johnston County, Durham, Chatham County, Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro don’t have to report in for makeup days.
In Johnston, a district spokesperson said they had used two banked days. Thursday will mark the fourth out of the district’s five allowed remote instruction days.
In Durham, a district spokesperson said they started the year with 7.5 banked days. At this time, Durham has 2.77 days remaining for year-round schools and 4.77 days for traditional-calendar schools.
In Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the district says it has used up 12 of the 18 banked instructional hours. But there are still several remote learning days that can be used before a teacher workday would need to be converted to a makeup day.
In Orange County, a district spokesperson said they’ve used banked days and their first two remote learning days. Two makeup days were held in January so high school students could finish final exams before spring semester started.
A district spokesperson said Chatham County is still covered by its banked time.
The situation could change in those districts if there’s a lot more snow or other issues that lead to cancellations.
Why doesn’t Wake use remote instruction?
Wake has only been using its banked time because of district guidelines that say remote instruction will be used as a last resort. Remote instruction would be used if all the banked hours and teacher workdays are used up and the only options left are to cut into spring break or extend the school year.
Wake’s reluctance to use remote learning is a result of the frustration families had when in-person classes were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. But last month, the school board gave administrators permission to study using remote instruction in lieu of weather makeup days.
Friday’s snow day means traditional-calendar students will lose the last day of spring break. Classes will now be held April 7.
Wake students making up snow days
Wake County has been eating through its banked time. In addition to Helene and snow days, some schools have lost instructional time after closing due to faulty HVAC systems.
Wake also used a banked day to extend winter break so students wouldn’t return on a Friday.
Multi-track year-round schools will make up all their days on Saturdays. Here are the makeup days that have been announced so far for Wake:
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM.
