Four snow days taken weeks before the end of winter could result in a lengthier school year in Woodland Hills.

District officials, however, are trying to prevent that.

Communications director Maria McCool said the district's schools, individually and as a group, requested snow day makeup exemptions from the Department of Education through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit on Feb. 23.

The exemption would allow the district to receive full subsidy reimbursement for the year without completing 180 school days.

Ms. McCool said the requests were necessary because there is only room for two more snow days on the district's schedule. The district has already used an Act 80 exception day and the Presidents Day holiday to make up snow days.

"The goal is to get students all the instructional time they need and should have, but to try and find a way to not really change the end of the school year," she said.

Pennsylvania schools are required to complete 180 days of instruction before June 30

Section 2523 of the Public School Code of 1949 requires entities requesting waivers for more than three school days to amend calendars to either include makeup days or give 450 hours of instruction to kindergarten students, 900 hours to elementary students and 980 hours to secondary students. The minimum hours required will not include Act 80 exception hours.

Ms. McCool said Superintendent Walter Calinger was open to the idea of extending school days to give students their required instructional hours, but said it is only one of many options administrators are considering.

Michael Race, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said there was no way of knowing Woodland Hills' chances of getting the exemption because the Education secretary makes the decisions "on a case-by-case basis."

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