INDIANAPOLIS -- To cancel school or not to cancel school?
That’s the question administrators at schools across central Indiana have to answer every winter as the temperatures turn cold and the snow begins to fall.
But how do they make that decision? Well, they start early - for one.
When snow or frigid temperatures hit overnight or early in the morning, the Indianapolis Public Schools Operations Division sends out five drivers to test different areas around the city and get a complete picture of the conditions. Those drivers - three from IPS and two from Durham School Services – have to report their findings no later than 4:45 a.m.
And while there are no hard-set rules for them to make those decisions, they do have a set of guidelines in place to help ensure that your child stays safe when the weather gets cold.
Some of the factors they take into consideration include but are not limited to:
- Amount and type of precipitation
- Temperature/Wind Chill
- Visibility
- Status of clearing roads
- Status of sidewalks
- Refreeze of melted snow/ice from previous day
- Blowing snow
- Continued snow in the forecast
One of the other key factors IPS uses when determining whether to delay or cancel school is the safety of your student at the bus stop.
School administrators consult the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s wind chill chart to determine if it’s too cold for your child to be standing outside.
As a general rule, if your child cannot stand out at the bus stop for longer than 10 minutes without the chance of getting frostbite, it’s too cold for them to be out there.
Those decisions are all made by around 5 a.m. and IPS says they try to inform families before 6 a.m. to help give them time to work out childcare plans.
