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New York City's one million public school students are getting a rare old-fashioned snow day today, Monday, as a powerful blizzard bears down on the five boroughs — the first full snow day the city has seen since 2019.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the closure Sunday, declaring that schools would be fully shut and that there would be no remote learning required. According to Gothamist, the mayor made the announcement in a now-viral social media video showing a FaceTime call with a Brooklyn eighth-grader named Victoria.
"We've got a full snow day tomorrow. No online school, no remote learning. Full classic snow day," Mamdani told the student, who could barely contain her excitement.
Meteorologists are forecasting between 18 and 22 inches of snow, with wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. A travel ban is also in effect across the city as the storm intensifies.
To make the closure official, Mamdani had to get around a New York State requirement that students receive 180 days of instruction per school year. He called State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa and explained what he described as a "unique extenuating set of circumstances." Rosa granted the waiver, citing the travel ban and the fact that students and staff were unlikely to have the equipment needed for remote learning.
The timing played a key role in that decision. As reported by the Union-Bulletin, students had just returned from midwinter recess and hadn't reconnected with the devices or classroom materials they would need to log on for a day of online classes.
The city's teachers union backed the mayor's call. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), said in a statement: "Having a traditional snow day is the right decision." Mulgrew added that the UFT and city had spoken to the state together and jointly requested the waiver, pointing to the travel ban and the device access issue as key factors.
Today's closure marks a significant shift from how the city handled its last major storm. Gothamist reports that in January, when at least 11 inches of snow blanketed New York City in its biggest snowstorm in nearly a decade, Mamdani required students to attend remote classes instead. While classes mostly ran smoothly that day, several families and schools reported tech outages throughout.
The shift away from remote learning during storms reflects a broader discussion about how snow days changed after the COVID-19 pandemic introduced remote learning as a viable option. The Economic Times notes that today's closure prioritizes the safety of students and staff over maintaining the instructional calendar.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the safety of students and their families remains the top priority. He did not announce whether schools would return to in-person learning or shift to remote classes on Tuesday. "We will see you soon when schools reopen," Samuels said.
In the meantime, Mamdani offered students one simple request: stay indoors during the height of the storm. "Once that has passed, feel free to go out and sled," he said.
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