Arizona schools likely to stay open for solar eclipse despite closures in other regions
Some American schools are gearing up for the April 2024 solar eclipse, with planned closures and schedule modifications.
Arizona schools, it appears, will not be joining them.
The state lies outside the path of totality, which is where the moon will completely cover the sun and experience darkness for the longest stretch of time, but residents will still be able to see a partial eclipse.
Eclipse times will not conflict with most Arizona students’ school start and end times.
Will Arizona schools close for the solar eclipse?
April 8 will be business as usual for most — if not all — Arizona schools.
The Arizona Education Association, a union representing teachers across the state, has not heard of districtwide directives or mandated closures for the solar event, spokesperson Emily Kirkland said.
Unlike other parts of the country, students will be in the middle of their school day when the eclipse travels over Arizona. The eclipse will begin around 10:08 a.m. and last until approximately 1:02 p.m., reaching its maximum phase around 11:20 a.m., according to Time and Date.
“In many cases, the school will say that kids can't go outside during the eclipse unless they have the special eclipse glasses,” Kirkland said. “So for kids to go outside and see an eclipse, you have to have a particularly engaged science teacher who makes a point of getting the glasses for their class.”
The Arizona Department of Education does not issue guidance on eclipses and leaves potential action to individual charter schools and districts, spokesperson Doug Nick said.
During the 2017 eclipse — the last time a total solar eclipse passed over the United States — Scottsdale Unified School District announced it would keep its students indoors for the duration of the event, including for lunch, recess and physical education. Students whose parents elected to keep them home for the day did not have the absence counted against them.
Dysart Unified and Cartwright school districts also told The Arizona Republic at the time that they would keep students indoors, with Dysart Unified encouraging its classrooms to watch the eclipse through a NASA livestream.
Those districts cited safety as the driving force behind their decisions.
With many out on spring break, The Arizona Republic could not immediately reach Phoenix-area school districts for comment on how they plan to handle this year's eclipse.
Why will some schools close for the eclipse?
Schools more directly in the path of totality have announced schedule changes in anticipation of the April 8 eclipse.
Several schools and districts across Ohio are set to close or dismiss students early for the occasion, with some citing guidance from the Southwest Ohio Disaster Services, The Cincinnati Enquirer and Columbus Dispatch reported. Ohio’s Department of Education and Workforce encouraged districts to plan for potential safety concerns since the eclipse is expected during most schools’ dismissal times.
Nearly every district in central Indiana is closing, shifting to a two-hour early release or holding an e-learning day, according to The Indianapolis Star, and several districts in Central Texas are planning to close as well, the Austin American-Statesman reported. One Texas county declared a state of disaster in preparation.
Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will be in the path of totality. Those states expect an influx of visitors who are looking to catch the eclipse in its full glory, which could disrupt traffic patterns and delay emergency response.
In addition to traffic concerns, school leaders say the event poses safety risks to students who might lack eclipse glasses and are therefore at risk of severe eye injuries. Monitoring safety as students turn their gaze to the sky, especially during dismissal, could pose a challenge for school employees.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will Arizona schools close for the 2024 solar eclipse? It appears not
