Calamity Day Assignments

A calamity day is something many kids look forward to once winter starts. It’s a break away from school and homework, but that mentality may soon change.

State legislators are looking at Ohio House Bill 407, which would set up "cyber classes". Essentially, teachers would be able to post assignments for their students on the Internet for them to complete during calamity days.

Zanesville City Schools says it’s a good idea for kids to keep learning on these off-days, but administrators aren’t sure if the idea would be feasible in this district.

"A lot of people don’t have computer access at home. So, they may have to address that, " says Kevin Appleman of Zanesville City Schools.

Appleman says he’s not sure how well the assignments would go over with students too if the teachers aren’t there-in person-to instruct them first, and there’s some other issues districts need to figure out.

"I’m not sure of some things there. If the student doesn’t complete it, do they give two weeks? How do you track that? So, there’s a lot of things out there that I’m kind of curious about," says Appleman.

It’s not known how long legislators plan to discuss the issue or even if it will be passed.