EdCircuit Staff 
Snow days are changing. In many states, a winter storm no longer means a day off: schools switch to remote learning instead, and in some districts the traditional snow day is effectively gone. Other states still ban counting online days, so schools close and make the day up in June. Here is how snow days work in the 2026–27 school year, what the rules are, what research says about lost school days, and what families think.
Are snow days going away?
Not everywhere, but they are becoming rarer. Before the pandemic, only 14 states had policies allowing alternatives to closing schools for bad weather. By 2022–23, more than three-quarters of the 35 snowiest states had policies to reduce weather closures, up from half in 2018–19, Nathan M. Sorber wrote for The Conversation.
New York City offers the clearest example. The city stopped traditional snow days in 2020, and in January 2026 Chancellor Kamar Samuels confirmed that schools would pivot to remote learning rather than cancel classes during a major winter storm, saying there was no room in the calendar for a traditional snow day, Chalkbeat reported. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the same ahead of the storm, noting that the city’s calendar had exactly the state-required 180 days, ABC7 reported.
Snow day rules by state
Whether a storm brings a day off or a day online depends largely on state law. As of 2025–26, according to an NWEA analysis:
| State approach to remote snow days | Number of states |
|---|---|
| Do not let remote learning count toward instructional time (including Arkansas and Massachusetts), plus the District of Columbia | 4 |
| Allow remote days to count, up to a limit (typically three to five days; up to 10 in states such as Virginia and Kentucky) | 23 |
| Leave it to districts or have no specific policy | 23 |
A few state examples:
- Pennsylvania lets districts use up to five Flexible Instructional Days a year to meet the 180-day requirement, with an approved plan.
- Ohio lets districts make up the equivalent of up to three school days of closures through an alternative learning plan adopted by August 1, with teachers’ representatives agreeing to it.
- Indiana allows up to three asynchronous learning days a year with no limit on live, synchronous days, and the state encourages districts to switch to remote instruction rather than cancel. It also offered a waiver process for days missed the week of January 26, 2026.
- New York does not require schools to offer remote instruction on emergency closure days, but if they do, those days can count toward the 180-day minimum as long as there is regular, substantive teacher-student interaction.
- Kansas allows up to 40 hours of remote learning per student, and Georgia, Idaho and Michigan allow a limited number of weather days without make-up, NWEA reports.
How snow days are made up
Where remote days do not count, or a district runs out of them, lost days are usually added to the calendar. Districts often build make-up days into their calendars in advance. Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, for example, lists April 19, June 16 and June 17, 2027 as make-up days for 2026–27, and says that once they are used it may switch to a virtual education day plan. Neighboring Howard County lists six days in June 2027 that may be used for inclement weather.
Do snow days hurt learning?
Perhaps less than people think. A widely cited study by economist Joshua Goodman found that in Massachusetts, student absences were strongly linked to lower achievement, but weather closures showed no measurable effect. A Maryland study found lower test scores in years with more snow days, NWEA notes, and neither study can say whether remote days make up for lost instruction.
That matters for the remote-day debate. If a single closure does little harm, a poorly run remote day may not be worth the trouble, especially for students without reliable internet. Remote days can also go wrong: New York City’s February 2024 remote day had a technical meltdown, Chalkbeat noted. For more on the equity side, see edCircuit’s look at digital equity and snow days.
What families think
Parents are split. In a survey of 1,004 parents published in February 2026 by K12, a company that runs online schools, 74 percent said snow days are an important part of childhood, yet 52 percent wanted virtual learning for some or all snow days and 86 percent said there should be some limit on traditional snow days.
How schools decide to call a snow day
The decision still starts before dawn, with superintendents checking roads, bus routes, forecasts, wind chills and building conditions. edCircuit’s guide to what goes into calling a snow day explains the process. What has changed is the next question: once schools close, is it a day off or a day online?
What school leaders should plan before winter
- Know your state’s rules on whether remote days count, how many are allowed and what approvals are needed.
- Tell families the plan early, at the start of the year: when a closure will be remote, what students should take home and how attendance works.
- Plan for access: devices sent home and charged, logins tested, hotspots or offline work for students without internet.
- Keep remote days simple, with clear tasks rather than a full live schedule.
- Decide when a real snow day makes sense. Some districts keep a few traditional snow days on purpose.
Frequently asked questions
Are snow days going away? In many places, yes. Most snowy states now allow remote learning days in place of some closures, and New York City replaced traditional snow days with remote learning in 2020. A few states still do not count remote days.
How many snow days do schools get? There is no national number. Districts plan make-up days and, where states allow, a limited number of remote days, often three to five and up to 10 in some states.
Do snow days have to be made up? Usually, unless your state counts remote learning days or allows a limited number of weather days without make-up. States set a minimum number of school days or hours each year.
What is a virtual snow day? A day when school buildings close for weather but students learn from home, online or with take-home work, so the day counts toward the school year.
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