NYC BLIZZARD: All NYC public schools will be closed Monday, bringing back ‘old-school’ snow day

As a major winter storm approaches NYC, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Sunday that all public schools will be closed on Monday.

There will be no be remote classes, the mayor said, giving the nearly 1 million public school students in NYC their first traditional snow day since 2019. The decision to close the schools was made for safety reasons, Mamdani explained during a press conference in Brooklyn.

“While the continuity of our children’s education is of the utmost importance, to ensure the safety of students, teachers and parents throughout the storm, schools will be closed tomorrow,” he said.

While NYS requires students to have 180 days of education in the calendar year, an exemption was granted due to the severity of the storm.

“We believe there is a unique set of circumstances for tomorrow’s education,” Mamdani said. “We shared this with the State Education Commissioner earlier this morning, and she has granted us a waiver, for which we are incredibly grateful.”

The storm hits NYC as public students return from a week-long midwinter recess. The break in classes prevented schools from providing students with the materials they would need for remote learning,  Chancellor Kamar Samuels explained.

“Students and staff have been out of buildings for the last week,” he said. “Many are still out of town and out of the country. Given this, and the severe nature of this weather event, we do not believe providing remote instruction tomorrow would be effective. Schools couldn’t send students home with the devices before the break.”

According to the National Weather Service, the storm could blanket the city with at least a foot of snow by 6 p.m. Monday. Wind gusts are expected to be as high as 55 mph.

The most intense conditions are expected between 1 a.m. and 11 a.m. Monday, when peak snowfall rates and the strongest wind gusts are expected to create dangerous blizzard conditions.  Thirteen schools will serve as warming centers throughout the storm.

Last month, a major snowstorm on Jan. 25 forced public schools to close and pivot to online learning the next day, with in-person classes resuming on Jan. 27.

City officials have not yet decided whether schools will reopen on Tuesday.