Majority of Florida public schools cancel classes ahead of Hurricane Ian


As Hurricane Ian closed in on Florida, schools and universities across the state continued to announce class closures and cancellations for the week.

More than 50 of the state’s 76 school districts have canceled classes, many through Friday, according to the Florida Department of Education, which has continually updated its list as school districts provided news. About 30 colleges and universities also said they would close their campuses and cancel classes.

Florida has five of the ten largest public school districts in the United States – all of which have announced closures. They included Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, and Palm Beach counties.

Many public schools in the state became evacuation shelters, so it was unclear when they might be available for students again.

The Manatee County District, located south of Tampa on the Gulf Coast and along the hurricane’s path, closed schools Tuesday until further notice. The school district and county emergency management have put in place 17 hutswhere residents began moving in on Tuesday.

SAT tests were postponed in Flagler County from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15 and classes were canceled in the district, which is on Florida’s east coast south of St. Augustine.

“This is not a decision we take lightly, but we want to give our families enough time to prepare their homes for this storm or evacuate the area if they feel that is the best option for them,” said Cathy Mittelstadt of Flagler Schools. Superintendent. “We also need to use this time to prepare the emergency accommodation space that our campuses provide, in case people are asked to evacuate.”

An alert from Florida State University said students who choose to stay in Tallahassee will be asked to follow a shelter-in-place protocol. Packed lunches would be delivered to residences ahead of the storm.

At the University of South Florida, students living in residence halls in St. Petersburg moved to the Tampa campus if they had no other housing options.

The University of Florida has canceled all classes, including online, Wednesday through Friday.

The University of Miami, a private school, said classes at its Coral Gables and Marine campuses would move online, along with some at its medical campus. The canteens and athletic halls would continue to operate normally.