The Ohio General Assembly should reject Gov. John Kasich’s request to grant school districts more calamity days.

The harsh winter weather that has caused most of the lost school days could easily last another month.

As the law stands, the districts would have to make up those days by cutting spring break short, extending the school year or canceling another scheduled day off. All those potential solutions seem preferable to denying children another one to five days of education.

One alternative for some districts is to use the so-called “blizzard bags.” These are homework assignments in lieu of makeup days when schools exceed their calamity allotment.

But busy work is no substitute for the classroom. And using the Internet for assignments — an option for schools using blizzard bags — fails to reach students in homes without Internet connections, without adequate technology and without adequate supervision.

The real solution is simple — make up the days.

 

Warren Tribune Chronicle