Responsive to this request, and per clarification after our initial response regarding the volume of records to be collected that you are specifically seeking “any reports, assessments, or decision documents identifying the obstacles preventing reopening and any records showing how those conditions were tracked and when they were determined to be resolved,” please find the following records attached below:
• Inclement Weather Procedures – Standard Operating Procedures DRAFT. Please note, this document is a new draft that staff indicates is being updated as used during weather incidents, and is subject to change.
• Internal Communications. Staff from our Operations Division identified the attached as those documenting obstacles to reopening, however most of their decision communication is done verbally and thus would not be documented. Under MPIA GP § 4-330, we have redacted sociological information where it contains cell phone numbers and/or has the potential to pose a risk to individual safety or privacy.
HCPSS MPIA Request #2026-139
Requestor
Andrew Carlson
Requested Information
Under the Maryland Public Information Act, I request the formal criteria and methodology used to determine school closures due to inclement weather. I request all documentation, internal communications, and supporting data that justified closures on January 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, along with any planned closures beyond. Include timelines of when these decisions were made and who was involved. I also request any external reports or agencies consulted. Additionally, I request any post-closure reviews or after-action reports, as well as any documented plans to mitigate such closures in the future. Specifically, I want to know what obstacles—whether on school property or in the community—prevented reopening and how they will address these issues going forward. Lastly, if any resource constraints or public feedback influenced decisions, I request records of those as well.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes
Responsive Documents
*Some request language is summarized to include the requester's specific document requests and legally protected information (such as personally identifiable information of a student) or personal, defamatory and malicious content removed at the discretion of the school system.
**Responses containing legally protected information available only to the person of interest are omitted from the above report.
***Howard County Public Schools reserves the right to remove erroneous or outdated documents from this site.