Information about school operations is announced publicly as soon as possible on local radio and television stations and other media including the Internet.

How does BCPS decide whether to close or delay the opening of schools for inclement weather?      

Keeping children and staff safe is the main factor in any decision to close or delay the opening of schools.       Information about the weather is gathered and considered from many sources before a decision is made:

Why does BCPS close schools or delay opening schools for inclement weather?     

To provide a quality education for every student, BCPS supports every opportunity to ensure that students are in class and learning; however, when weather conditions or forecasted conditions threaten the safety of children and staff, we must make decisions to curtail class time to ensure the those we teach are able to get to school safely or return home without incident.

  When the Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools decides to close or delay school openings because of inclement weather, the decision is made with great care and deliberation. Many aspects of school operations are affected – bus and staff schedules must be altered; parents must be notified; and the media must be informed. Timing is crucial, as BCPS is a large school system with more than 103,000 students. If schools are to close for the day, an announcement will be made by 5:30 a.m. If schools are to close early, or if afternoon or evening programs are to be cancelled, the decision will be made as much in advance as possible.

      Once the decision is made, it is communicated within minutes to the media, to the BCPS web site, and to the Education Channel (Comcast Cable Channel 73, Verizon FIOS Channel 35), the BCPS school status information phone line, and to parents and the community. Safeguards are provided to ensure that the information is accurate, up-to-date, and reliable.

      BCPS is a large system. Each day, nearly 800 school buses transport more than 70,000 students to and from school over thousands of miles of county roads. The decision to close schools because of weather is almost always for the entire BCPS system. Weather, unlike a power outage or water main break, is not confined to a single area and can spread to different parts of the county. Therefore, the most severe weather conditions within the county are used as the basis for the decision-making criteria. A uniform procedure to close all schools is maintained so that the school system may respond quickly to emergency weather conditions and protect the safety and well being of students and staff. Also, decisions to close or delay schools are often influenced by factors such as school or bus lot accessibility. Most main roads may be clear, for instance, but parking lots and sidewalks at many of the county’s schools may still be snow-covered. Or schools may be closed early before a storm to enable the system’s buses to get all children home safely before conditions are expected to become hazardous. All factors involved in making the decision to close schools, delay the opening of schools, or end the school day early are in the best interest of students and are intended to keep children out of harm’s way.

Where can I find information about BCPS school closings or delays?     

There are several places to find out information: