Boston students’ snow days off could cut into the traditional April break

All these snow days have Boston school officials scratching their heads over how to make sure students get the 180 days of instruction that state law mandates.

The makeup days could very well cut into, or eliminate, April vacation, officials say. Everything is on the table, Gov. Charlie Baker says.

There have been eight snow-related school shutdowns this season, the most in 20 years. The average is two-and-a-half freebies.

“I know that some places have started having conversations about April vacation. I think you’ll also see people have conversations about when they’re going to end the year in the spring … And frankly, when you look at the number of days we’re talking about so far, I think everything’s going to be on the table,” he told Boston Herald Radio Monday.

Besides the April break, reports Boston.com, other traditional days off that could become days on are Evacuation Day (March 17), Good Friday (April 3), and Bunker Hill Day (June 17).

Boston.com reports:

The 2014-15 scho:ol year was scheduled to end June 19; Monday’s closure extends it to June 30—Tuesday’s, to July, one would think.
But, while Boston students attended school until June 30 four times (since the 1982-83 school year), The Globe reports that the school year was never extended into July.
That’s because, while state law allows schools to stay open, the union contract requires the school year to begin after Labor Day and not extend beyond June 30.
This makes Tuesday’s preemptive closure problematic, forcing city officials to consider creative solutions.