Ice storm closes local school districts, extends holiday break for many

All 78 public school districts in the 10-county area surrounding Dayton are closed today, thanks to a weather system that coated streets, cars and buses in ice. Most local private schools, career tech centers and charter schools are also closed.

Traffic was a problem throughout the Miami Valley this morning, with numerous crashes and slide-offs on icy highways and surface streets.

RELATED: Multiple ways to see our school closings list

Monday's school closures — from Darke County in the northwest to Clinton County in the southeast — come on the heels of dozens of cancellations last week because of below-zero temperatures and wind chills.

Many local school districts have not held classes since before Christmas, although a few, including Vandalia-Butler, weren’t scheduled to start classes until Tuesday anyway.

Ohio schools formerly were required to make up school days if they closed for more than five days. Now each school must be open for a minimum number of hours of instruction (910 for elementary, 1,001 for grades 7-12). Most local schools could now miss more than five days without having to schedule makeup time.

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