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Administrative Procedure 178: Inclement/Severe Weather

Legal References

Education Act: Section 265 (1) (j) Duties of Principal: Care of Pupils and Property


Related References


1. School Operations During Inclement Weather
1.1 The following administrative procedure governs school operations during inclement weather and details the expectations of the principal, bus operators, staff and students.
1.2 This procedure is to be followed by principals, all school and other work site staff when there is a necessity to close schools to students or cancel buses because of inclement weather.
1.3 Closure of the school for staff is a separate decision that takes place in consultation with the Regional Superintendent.

2. Overall Expectations for Inclement Weather
2.1 This procedure is based on the following premises:
    1. The safety and well-being of students and staff are paramount;
    2. The decisions for emergency closure and delay/early leaving will be made as early as possible and communicated to the public in accordance with the above procedure;
    3. Subject to weather conditions, every effort will be made to keep schools open to serve students and staff who can reach the schools safely;
    4. The district experiences a diversity of weather conditions which vary significantly from location to location, and so local decisions are needed;
    5. Under most circumstances, if students arrive safely at the start of the day, they will remain until regular dismissal time; and
    6. Bus delays, normally due to power or water outages, will generally be for two (2) hours.
2.2 Factors for consideration in closing a school, cancelling/delaying buses or deciding that students should depart early due to inclement weather include:
    1. The weather conditions, i.e. wind chill factor, wind speed, snow accumulation, temperature, ice, fog, and tornados;
    2. The number of staff members available to provide adequate supervision and care for students to ensure supervision;
    3. The level of deterioration from normal conditions of highways, streets and city or town walkways.
2.3 The following additional factors must be addressed before dismissing students early:
    1. Parents/guardians, road maintenance crews, bus operators, bus drivers, and the general public are often “caught off guard” when students return early and are not prepared or available;
    2. Weather history in our district indicates that winds and storms are often more calm at the end of the afternoon (regular dismissal time), so it is presumed to be safer for students and staff to remain at school until regular dismissal time;
    3. Parents/guardians are able to be alerted and informed that their children are being sent home early. Approximately 2 hours (depending on school size) should be allowed for the ability to notify bus drivers and parents/guardians;
    4. In the rare cases when students are dismissed other than at the regular dismissal time, the principal must be assured that each student has appropriate care upon arriving at home or at another prearranged destination. Only when the principal is satisfied that the welfare of students concerned has been assured, should they be dismissed.
3. Procedures
3.1 Decision to Cancel Buses or Close Schools Due to Weather
3.1.1 Decisions regarding bus operations are made by bus operators.
3.1.2 A decision to cancel buses does not mean a school is closed to staff.
3.1.3 Decisions regarding emergency school closure are made by principals in consultation with the Regional Superintendent.
3.1.4 Decisions regarding early dismissal are made by principals in consultation with the Regional Superintendent.
3.1.5 Decisions regarding system closures, where all schools and sites are closed in the district, are made by the Director in consultation with Senior Staff.

3.2 Process for Cancellations or Delays of Buses
3.2.1 The Huron Perth Student Transportation Services (HPSTS) will establish the process to coordinate both the action and communication resulting from bus cancellations or delays. This process will be reviewed annually and shared with principals.
3.2.2 HPSTS will use the Delays module of the BusPlanner software to communicate bus delays and cancellations. Bus operators will post all notices directly to the BusPlanner Delays Module on the HPSTS website and subsequently appear on the BusPlanner Delays App.
3.2.3 Principals will monitor cancellation and delay notices for their school using either the App or the HPSTS website. Principals can also post cancellation and delay notices to the school based social media accounts and broadcast through other means of direct messaging (email, Messenger).
3.2.4 Principals should advise parents/guardians to monitor the BusPlanner Delays App and the HPSTS website.
3.2.5 Media will be directed to the App or the HPSTS website to receive notices of cancellations or delays.

3.3 Process for Early Departure of Buses
3.3.1 Following the expectations outlined in Section 2.3 above, principals must communicate the reason early departure is under consideration and make the decision jointly with the Regional Superintendent.
3.3.2 Once the decision is made, the principal must advise HPSTS and the bus operator.
3.3.3 Principals should communicate the early departure via the school based social media accounts and broadcast through other means of direct messaging (email, Messenger), in addition to direct communication with each impacted family as noted in section 2.3.
3.3.4 The principal must be assured that each student has appropriate care upon arriving at home or at another prearranged destination before dismissal is allowed.

3.4 Process for Emergency School Closure
3.4.1 The principal, based on bus cancellations, weather services, and other appropriate sources, in consultation with the Regional Superintendent, may decide to close the school.
3.4.2 Principals will post individual school closure notices directly through the BusPlanner Delays Module which will then update the BusPlanner Delays App and the HPSTS website.
3.4.3 Principals will communicate the school closure via the school based social media accounts and broadcast through other means of direct messaging (email, messenger).
3.4.4 System-wide school closure notices will be posted by HPSTS, after consultation with the Director and Senior Staff.

3.5 Tornados and Severe Weather Alerts
3.5.1 Environment Canada estimates that our district experiences one or two tornados each year. Tornados are most likely to occur during the afternoon of a very hot, hazy and humid day. They are generally preceded by very large cumulonimbus clouds, lightning, rain and hail.
3.5.2 Environment Canada issues three types of alerts
      1. A WEATHER WATCH, which signifies conditions are right for the formation of severe thunderstorms and/or tornados.
      2. A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING, when severe thunderstorms have been sighted on radar.
      3. A TORNADO WARNING, when tornados have actually been sighted.
3.5.3 Environment Canada can generally provide adequate lead-time for Alerts 1 and 2; however, there is virtually no lead-time for Alert 3.

3.6 Process for Tornados and Severe Weather Alerts
3.6.1 Administrative Procedure 170: School Emergency Procedures should be followed when responding to a Tornado or Severe Weather Alert.
3.6.2 The below instructions should be followed with Alert 1 – Weather Watch.
      • The school is alerted of the potential of severe thunderstorms and/or tornadoes.
      • Classes taking place outside are to come into the school to a predetermined area.
      • The administration/office will monitor the situation on radio.
      • Class activities and school routines continue as usual.
      • Teachers take attendance and inform office of missing students.
3.6.3 The below instructions should be followed with Alert 2 – Severe Weather Warning and Alert 3 – Tornado Watch. The Shelter-in-Place procedures are to be put into effect.
      • Principal or delegate will make the Shelter-in-Place announcement.
      • Staff will check that designated areas are empty.
      • Classroom teachers will lead students to a pre-determined safe location in school.
      • If time permits, windows should be closed and doors closed on exit from rooms.
      • Students and staff assume crouch position in safe location.
      • Remain in position until all clear is announced.
3.6.4 If a TORNADO WARNING is issued prior to the bus departure time, buses will not run. Busing will resume when the Tornado Warning is cancelled. If a tornado is sighted on route, bus drivers will:
      1. Stop the bus.
      2. Lead the students off and away from the bus.
      3. Have the students get in a ditch or the lowest lying area possible.
      4. Have the students lie flat and cover their heads until the emergency passes.
4. Expectations for Staff
4.1 Bus cancellations are made primarily based on road conditions and consideration for travel on back/county roads where students may not be able to be picked up or returned safely. Bus cancellations do not mean that staff should not attempt to report to work.
4.2 All staff members are expected to make a reasonable effort to reach their worksite where it is safe to do so.
4.3 When it is deemed unsafe to reach a worksite, a supervisor shall be notified according to a method that follows the direction of the supervisor. Likewise, principals will develop and communicate to staff a process whereby they verify staff members’ arrival at the school. Staff shall continue to monitor weather and road conditions and assess their ability to attend their workplace.
4.4 In the event that staff members cannot safely reach their worksite, they must contact their principal or supervisor who will provide direction on how to enter the absence into Smart Find Express using the WEATHER code, if appropriate, and reiterate expectations around attempting to arrive at their worksite
4.5 Days of emergency worksite closures are work days and staff members continue to be paid. Staff shall be working from home and available for contact by the supervisor or colleague.
4.6 Staff may work in a school which is closed to students, but can be accessed safely. Staff may also work at an alternate worksite or school which is open to students and to which they can travel safely.
4.7 In all cases, common sense must prevail. Staff members are not expected to take undue risks when travelling to and from school during inclement weather.
 
Inclement Weather or Other School Disruption - Handy Reference:                                                                                                                            October 2024
Fog Days
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • On days where Fog makes it unsafe to operate buses, the Bus Operator will make the decision to cancel the morning bus runs and will run the afternoon routes only if it is safe to do so.
  • The decision to operate the afternoon run is generally based on whether or not there is snow on the ground and temperatures are currently or forecasted to be above or below zero.
  • On days when morning buses are cancelled due to fog, all schools, including rural ones, should be ready to accept students at the school starting at the morning bell time. Parents should be made aware that they are responsible for picking up their child at the end of the school day, should the afternoon buses be cancelled as well.
  • Staff should travel when it is safe to do so.
  • If a significant number of staff travel a considerable distance to the school, the principal may need to investigate the possibility of accessing Occasional Teacher staff or closing the building. This decision should be made in consultation with the Regional Superintendent and could be discussed in advance as a pre-planning exercise.
Snow Days
 
 
 
 
  • On days when any buses are cancelled, schools will have a plan to keep the school open.
  • If any school administrator is considering school closure, consultation must occur with the Regional Superintendent.
  • System level closure decisions will be made by Senior Staff in concert with HPCDSB and communicated to the system as early as possible.
  • In the event of extreme low temperature (-40C including wind-chill), the decision is made the morning of, regarding a system shut-down in concert with HPCDSB and communicated to the system.
Other Issues:
Hydro
Heat
Water
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • On days when there is no hydro at a school, the Principal should seek information from the applicable hydro utility website/app about the status of the outage and consult with the Regional Superintendent.
  • On days when there is no water, the Principal should communicate with the Custodian and Facilities about a timeline.
  • On days when there is no heat (boiler/HVAC unit down) the Principal should communicate with the Custodian and Facilities about a timeline.
  • If the buses are in transit, then buses will proceed to the school, disembark students and leave until a decision has been made.
  • If the buses are not in transit, and hydro, water or heat is expected to be restored within two hours of the school day start, then buses will be delayed for 2 hours and the situation reassessed at that time.
  • When hydro, water or heat is lost after the start of the school day, there is a two-hour window to be used as a guideline where, depending on the status after two hours, a decision will be made in consultation with the Regional Superintendent to proceed with a closure or to remain at school.
  • In the event of a mid-day closure, contact will be made immediately with the HPSTS General Manager who will contact the bus operators. Principals should enact the school phone tree, ensuring an adult is at home to receive the student. If no one is at home, the student stays at the school until a parent can be contacted. Bus drivers will ensure that an adult is at the bus stop, otherwise student(s) will be returned to the school. This means an Administrator or TIC stays until all students are safely home (bus operators will call to confirm at the end of their routes).
Lockdown in Community
 
  • Advice is received centrally from community contacts (i.e. OPP, city/town police) by the Superintendent responsible for Safe Schools and decisions are made and communicated to HPSTS General Manager for coordination with school(s) in question.
  • Factors considered include:
    • whether buses are in transit and can be redirected to an alternate location
    • whether it is morning or afternoon runs in question


Revised October 2024