Winter Weather Protocols

Information About School Schedule Changes

If a decision is made to close or delay school, information is shared first as a popup on our District 196 website and all school websites. Families and staff will also be notified through a phone call, text message and email. Please keep your contact information current in Infinite Campus.

The district will also:

Post to X/Twitter (@ISD196Schools) and Facebook (@District196)
Update the district information line at 651-423-7700
Notify local television stations (look for “Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools”).

If there is no change in schedule and school is open as scheduled, there is no communication from the district.

Severe Weather Preparation

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. In Minnesota, April is Severe Weather Awareness Month. Our schools participate in severe weather drills and prepare for a range of possible scenarios including thunder and lightning disruption to outdoor activities, severe thunderstorms that may delay dismissal or transportation, and tornado warnings that require all to take shelter.

Dakota County emergency sirens (indicated by a five-minute steady tone) and weather alert radios may alert school leaders of an severe weather situation. A school administrator or designee would direct everyone to pre-designated school SHELTER areas if there is a tornado warning or high winds (> 70 mph).
Once students are assembled in a safe area, they are taught to assume a protective posture (crouched down on elbows and knees with hands over back of head) facing an interior wall (if possible) when danger is imminent.
If a tornado warning is in effect or the Dakota County Sirens have been activated at the end of the school day, students remain in shelter until it is safe to release. Dismissal and transportation routes may be delayed.
The district will communicate with families and staff through a phone call, text, and email.

Winter Weather Procedures

School sometimes needs to be canceled or delayed due to bad weather and driving conditions. For the first two inclement weather days each year, school is canceled. For inclement weather days 3 through 7 in any one school year, students and staff will participate in an E-Learning Day from home (see below). Students and staff should bring their learning devices home from school each day to be prepared for this possibility.

If school is canceled for the day
If there is a two-hour delayed start

If school is canceled for the day

No regular classes for students and the following activities are canceled:

School-Age Care (SAC);
Connections Preschool;
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE);
Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE);
Transition Plus;
Adult Basic Education (ABE);
Community Education daytime and after-school activities, and
Elementary and middle school after-school and evening activities.

A decision about high school after-school and evening activities, and Community Education evening activities, is made and communicated on websites by mid-afternoon that day.

If there is a two-hour delayed start

School buses operate on a two-hour delayed schedule, meaning students will be picked up at their bus stop two hours later than their normal pickup time, and the following activities are canceled:

SAC (morning only);
ABE (morning only);
ECSE and ECFE (morning and afternoon);
Connections Preschool (morning and afternoon), and
Community Education activities (morning only).

After-school and evening activities are held as scheduled.

E-Learning Days

Minnesota law allows school districts to have up to five E-Learning Days per school year to allow students to continue their learning from home when weather conditions make it unsafe to attend school in person. In District 196, E-Learning Days are held IF there are more than two school cancelations in one school year; the third through seventh inclement weather days, if needed, would be E-Learning Days. Any students not scheduled to have school that day do not participate in the E-Learning Day.

Communication Expectations
Student Expectations

Communication Expectations

Families and staff will be notified of an E-Learning Day via an early morning SchoolMessenger phone call, email, text message (if opted in), and on the district website and social media.

Teachers will communicate with students through Seesaw and Schoology, and will post assignments, instructional activities and resources by 9:30 a.m. to guide students’ learning that day, but there will be no synchronous (Zoom) instruction.

Teachers will be available during regular school hours to respond to student/family questions sent by email and phone call messages left on their work voicemail. There will be no synchronous (Zoom) office-hour sessions.

If a staff member is not available during an E-Learning Day due to illness or a personal day, the teacher will post a message on Seesaw or Schoology to notify students and families of their absence.

Student Expectations

Students should bring their district-issued iPad or Chromebook home with them each day.

In the morning of an E-Learning Day, students should check Seesaw or Schoology for instructions from their teacher(s) on that day’s assignments and are expected to be engaged with their required learning tasks.

Students will be considered in attendance for an E-Learning Day unless a parent or guardian verifies an absence.

Teachers will communicate deadlines for E-Learning Day assignments on Seesaw or Schoology, and appropriate provisions will be made for students with IEPs and 504 plans.

Cold-Weather Schedule Changes

Decisions to change the school schedule due to severe cold are made by 6:30 p.m. the night before. District 196 will cancel school for cold weather IF the National Weather Service forecast for 6 a.m. the following morning calls for:
• Air temperature of -25 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, OR
• Wind chill of -35 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.

Frostbite can occur in less than 10 minutes in these dangerously cold temperatures. If school is canceled for cold weather, the SAC program is offered at predetermined locations, ONLY for families that are already enrolled in SAC at the time.

Decisions Based on Safety and Several Factors

District leaders understand these decisions impact many families who need to make alternate arrangements when school is not in session. The overriding concern in making these decisions is the safety of students, staff and others in the community. Factors considered include road conditions, visibility, snow depth, wind chill, the forecast for the remainder of the day and the actions of other districts in our area. Generally, if roads are passable and it’s believed buses will be able to complete their routes with only slight delays, school will be held.

The superintendent makes these decisions based on what is best for all children in the district. If parents are ever concerned about sending their child to school because of weather conditions, it is always the parents’ choice to keep their child at home.

Receive Notice of Weather-Related School Schedule Changes

Anytime there is a change to the schedule for all district schools due to the weather or other emergency, the district sends a message to all parents/guardians of currently enrolled students. If you do not have a currently enrolled student in District 196 but would benefit from receiving these messages, you can sign-up for email notifications here. If you would like to receive notifications by text or phone call, you will need to add your cell phone number after signing up for the emails via the SchoolMessenger service that District 196 uses.

If you have a currently enrolled student in the district, you do not need to sign up here.