ORLANDO, Fla. – Students and teachers throughout Central Florida have all returned to school after Hurricane Ian barreled through the state nearly two weeks ago.
Now, Central Florida districts are working to determine when students will make up the school days missed due to the hurricane.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: Video game leads Orlando man on 200-mile journey to rescue stranger during Ian | Win four 3-day park hopper passes to Walt Disney World | Become a News 6 Insider]
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that all Florida school districts closed due to Ian would be reopened by Oct. 18.
All school districts that closed due to #HurricaneIan will be reopened by Oct. 18th.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 14, 2022
To have schools open less than 3 weeks after a storm of this magnitude is a testament to the dedication and all-hands-on-deck approach on the part of our educators and principals. pic.twitter.com/ShfsI5tlcJ
Below is a county-by-county list breaking down each district’s hurricane makeup day plan. We will update the story as we receive more information.
Brevard County
The school district will have hurricane makeup days, but a plan has not been finalized yet.
Flagler County
Flagler Schools Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt said staff has recommended moving the end of the first quarter to Friday, Oct. 14, and shifting the end of the second quarter, or first semester, to Wednesday, Jan. 11, in order to impact staff and students as little as possible.
While school officials said Monday, Oct. 17, Monday, Nov. 21, Tuesday, Nov. 22 and Friday, Dec. 23 were originally listed as hurricane makeup days, the new plan devised by staff would keep Oct. 17 as a teacher workday and Nov. 21 as the start of fall break.
According to Flagler Schools, as Florida’s hurricane season runs through November, the district reserves the right to amend these plans at any point. Families and staff can find more information listed on the district calendar.
Lake County
District officials said Lake County Schools will not have any makeup days as a result of Hurricane Ian.
Marion County
Marion County district officials said no makeup days are required as a result of Hurricane Ian.
Orange County
Orange County Public Schools said Friday, Oct. 28 is now scheduled as a normal school day instead of a student holiday/teacher non-work day. Additionally, the district said it will tack on seven no early dismissal Wednesdays between November 2022 and May 2023 to make up for instructional time lost during Hurricane Ian.
Osceola County
The district, which lost five instructional days due to Ian, will not have any hurricane makeup days because the district exceeds the state requirement on instructional minutes.
However, Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace said if any additional days are missed this school year during the remainder of hurricane season, makeup days may be planned.
Seminole County
The hurricane makeup days in Seminole County will be Jan. 2, 2023, Jan. 3, 2023, and March 20, 2023, according to district officials.
Sumter County
At the next board meeting on Oct.18, Sumter school officials will discuss not having hurricane makeup days.
The district currently has an extended instructional day for students to meet the state-required instructional/credit hours.
Volusia County
District officials said they will not have hurricane makeup days due to Hurricane Ian, but will instead plan to convert seven early release Wednesdays to regular school days to recover seven hours of instructional time.
There will be no early release on the following Wednesdays: Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Jan. 4.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: