Richardson ISD announced during a Feb. 16 board of trustees meeting that it is designating April 10, previously earmarked as a weather make-up day, as an instructional day to make up for inclement weather cancellations in late January and early February.
Superintendent Tabitha Branum said the district would need to use that day in order to offset the four-day school closure between Jan. 31-Feb. 3 due to icy conditions. Branum said the district has no plans to alter its other designated weather make-up date, April 7, at this time.
“If we have any other inclement weather situations or any other closures, it's important for the community to know that we would have to look at that April 7 [date],” Branum said. “Otherwise, we would have to potentially consider adding additional minutes [to the school days].”
According to state regulations, RISD is required to have 75,600 instructional minutes per year. The district intentionally includes 440 instructional minutes in its school days, more than the 420 required by the state, to bank for additional weather make-up days. District officials said the first two school cancellations, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, were offset by banked minutes.
