Ongoing Weather Conditions Force Troy Schools to Close Wednesday

Troy School District students have been enjoying an extended winter break this week, getting both Monday and Tuesday off because of the severe weather.

Wednesday is expected to have a high near 15 degrees with wind chill values as low as -19. For that reason, the district announced that schools will be closed on Wednesday as well.

How long will it last before the district needs to add additional days to the calendar? In Michigan, districts with more than six cancelations can add days to the end of the school calendar or add minutes to days to make up the time.

By state rules, Michigan school districts are required to provide 1,098 hours of instruction over the course of at least 170 days. 

Previously, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation allowing schools with too many snow days to avoid having to schedule extra days in the summer.

According to Public Act 29 of 2013, school districts that weren't open at least 170 days could continue receiving state funding, as long as they still met the 1,098-hour minimum, which meant school districts that had more than six snow days could hold longer days for the remainder of the school year instead of adding days.

The law only applied only to the 2012-2013 school year. It would take another act of the legislature for such flexibility to be available during the 2013-2014 school year. 

Patch local editor Andrew Thurlow contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected. The legislation Gov. Rick Snyder signed applied to the 2012-2013 school year.