PGCPS Closes Schools Monday for Virtual Learning, Emergency Board Meeting Wednesday

Prince George’s County Public Schools announced that all district schools will be closed for in-person learning and will operate a virtual learning day on Monday, February 23, with synchronous instruction on a two-hour delayed schedule, and that all PGCPS offices will be closed for in-person work, according to the district’s announcement and an Instagram post labeling the day Code Brown. The district said the move impacts “thousands of students.”

The district’s operational message for Monday, a two-hour delayed start for virtual synchronous instruction, sits alongside PGCPS’s formal Virtual Education Day plan, which specifies a synchronous instruction minimum of four hours. PGCPS’s plan states, “This plan gives Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) the option to transition to virtual learning–synchronous instruction (4 hour minimum) supplemented with asynchronous learning opportunities–when or if school buildings are closed due to an inclement weather event or other emergencies.” The two-hour delay announced for the day was noted in public messaging and the Instagram post that named Monday, February 23 as a Virtual Learning day.

The decision marks a policy shift after earlier district messaging that there would be no virtual learning this school year. WJLA reported that PGCPS had previously told reporters and posted on the PGCPS website that there would be no virtual learning for the school year; 7News has reported the district is now working on a virtual learning plan for future weather-related closures. PGCPS’s written plan emphasizes that virtual instruction days count toward Maryland’s required 180 days of instruction and are initiated districtwide by the superintendent.

The Board of Education has scheduled an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss virtual learning. WJLA reported the board would hold an emergency session but did not provide a time, while 7News checked the school board website and located a virtual emergency meeting listed for 5:30 p.m. The two reports reflect a timing discrepancy between the district’s initial announcement and the later board calendar posting.

Snow and make-up day context informed the shift. 7News reported that schools reopened for in-person classes on February 4 after seven days off for snow and ice, noting the district had five snow days on its calendar but had used seven. 7News also reported PGCPS considered opening on Presidents’ Day, February 16, to make up time and possibly requesting a waiver from the State of Maryland; the earlier reopening on February 4 used a two-hour delay and the district told parents that absences caused by unsafe local conditions would be excused.

PGCPS’s plan reiterates its operational expectations for remote instruction: “Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is committed to ensuring the safety of all students and staff while maintaining continuity of teaching and learning,” and, “While there is no substitute for in-person learning, PGCPS expects educators and families to make every effort to engage in meaningful, live teaching and learning experiences on a virtual platform.” The district has not published a line-by-line schedule reconciling the two-hour delayed start for Monday with the four-hour synchronous minimum, and the announcement did not include exact student or staff counts affected, a superintendent statement, or technical and attendance procedures for the virtual day. The board’s emergency session Wednesday is expected to address the district’s virtual-learning approach going forward.