A decision team comprised of individuals representing transportation, school police services, and facilities evaluate relevant factors and make a recommendation to the superintendent about whether to close school.  The superintendent, after reviewing all the information, makes the final decision as early as possible.

The recommendation crew begins road/street assessments, snow crews start cleaning and/or graveling parking lots, and the transportation preparation crew reports to work, based upon the timing of the weather event.  SPS participates in a conference call with the National Weather Service and area schools and a recommendation is made to the superintendent. The superintendent makes the final cancellation decision. If school is canceled, media outlets are notified, website and social media are updated, text messages, emails, and MySPS app notifications are sent as early as possible, followed by a Blackboard Connect automated phone call at 6 a.m. Factors influencing the decision include temperature and wind chill, bus fleet status, condition of state, county and city roads, forecast and building safety issues.

Every effort is made to make a decision by 5 a.m. whether to cancel school so that parents can be alerted as soon as possible.  The decision to cancel is announced immediately once it is made via SPS Twitter and Facebook accounts, website, phone calls, text, emails and local news media.  Please do not rely solely on one method of notification. At times, in extreme weather conditions, internet access or telephone service may be disrupted preventing or delaying the use of some communication channels.

If you are currently receiving notifications from the district, you will receive the weather cancellation notifications.  Parents who have signed up for Blackboard Connect will be notified via telephone message beginning at 6 a.m. Parents will also be notified by text message if they have opted-in for that service.  If you are not currently receiving the automated phone calls and/or text messages, complete the Blackboard Connect form and return it to your child's school OR if your child attends high school or middle school (excluding Pleasant View and Westport) you can update that information by logging in to Home Access Center. Notifications will also be sent out over the MySPS app.

Contact information for students can also be updated by contacting their school. Contact information for employees can be updated by logging in to Employee Self Service.  Learn more here. 

Please do not rely solely on one method of notification. At times, in extreme weather conditions, internet access or telephone service may be disrupted preventing or delaying the use of some communication channels.

For many of our families, it is difficult to adjust work schedules or find child care for just a few hours in the morning. A delayed start can also make it difficult for working parents with students who are not eligible for bus transportation to get their children to school later than the routine start time. In addition to problems it could create for parents, there are transportation factors that make late start an ineffective option. Besides their regular school routes, bus drivers transport 1,300 students to various programs throughout the district which operate on a different schedule than regular schools. Some examples include special education and early childhood programs. Many of these are half-day programs so with a two-hour late start, students who participate in the morning session of a program would only be at school for an hour or so before it was time for them to leave again. 

Each school district must evaluate its own conditions. The number of rural roads, lack of street maintenance, etc., can make the safety of travel vary from one district to another even when they are in close geographic proximity.

On days when school is not in session, programs held in our facilities such as before and after-school child care are also canceled. However, some athletic events and other student activities may continue as scheduled depending on changing weather conditions, distance of travel, departure times and location. Activity/athletic cancellations are posted here as they are announced.

In response to new state legislation, Springfield Public Schools will utilize an Alternative Method of Instruction (AMI) plan on days that school is canceled due to inclement weather or any other emergency this year. Utilizing AMI will allow student learning to continue from home and reduce the number of make-up days required.

The first three inclement weather days will be treated as a typical cancellation and students will not participate in any learning activities. SPS will implement AMI days for students on the fourth day school is canceled. Please note: AMI days for pre-kindergarten students at Campbell, Fulbright, Mallory and Shady Dell Early Childhood Centers will start on the second day school is canceled. 

On AMI days, students in grades PreK through 8 will complete assignments provided in a packet of learning resources, which will be sent home with students this week. Students in grades 9-12 will log into Canvas, where teachers will post learning expectations and assignments for the day. For students participating in Launch Virtual Learning courses, asynchronous modules will be available in Canvas. Students should log into their courses for information on assignments to be completed. There will be no live instruction. 

Students are required to complete the assigned work and return it to their teacher the next day or they will be counted absent on the AMI day.

Read more about AMI days. 

Several community agencies offer snow-day activities for children when SPS is not in session. Two include Springfield-Greene County Park Board   and the YMCA

Offering transportation to students during inclement weather who normally do not qualify for transportation would be logistically difficult. The district does not have enough buses or drivers to transport more than the students who qualify for transportation on a daily basis. The current bus fleet operates at capacity. 

If your regular bus is 30 minutes late, students should return home and contact the district transportation department at 523-0500.  You can also monitor bus delays at www.sps.org/busdelays.

Parents are in the best position to decide if their child should stay home due to safety concerns.  Children who are kept out of school when school is in session will be counted absent. The district does not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. The only time a student is not counted absent is if they are out of school due to a school-sponsored activity.