Tennessee may pardon school snow days

William Meager and his son Benjamin Meager, left, work with Scotty Purdue and his sister Sara Purdue to roll a huge snowball while at Red Bank's White Oak park on Thursday morning, February 26, 2015. An overnight winter storm dumped over half of a foot of snow on the Tennessee Valley area.
William Meager and his son Benjamin Meager, left, work with Scotty Purdue and his sister Sara Purdue to roll a huge snowball while at Red Bank's White Oak park on Thursday morning, February 26, 2015. An overnight winter storm dumped over half of a foot of snow on the Tennessee Valley area.
photo William Meager and his son Benjamin Meager, left, work with Scotty Purdue and his sister Sara Purdue to roll a huge snowball while at Red Bank's White Oak park on Thursday morning, February 26, 2015. An overnight winter storm dumped over half of a foot of snow on the Tennessee Valley area.

School districts might be able to ask for relief in scheduling a number of snow makeup days after the recent storm that prompted a statewide Level 2 state of emergency.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced in a memo to school leaders that the education department will determine on a case-by-case basis lifting a district's requirement of teaching 180 instructional days because of the recent winter storm. State law says McQueen may waive the 180-day requirement in very limited cases, including natural disasters.

"Because of the unique and rare circumstances of our recent weather and the impact on school districts throughout the state," McQueen says in the memo, "and because of the Level 2 State of Emergency declaration, we will be accepting requests to waive a maximum number of three instructional days."

Read more from our news partner at The Tennessean.

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