ST. LOUIS – A harsh winter with several snowstorms has forced many Missouri schools to rely on virtual learning days, also known as AMI days, in hopes to prevent the need to extend the traditional school year.

AMI days are ones that the state recognizes as alternative methods of instruction. When schools use an AMI day, it generally counts as a regular school day, allowing schools to claim attendance hours if students complete assigned lessons within designated timeframes.

This is important because Missouri state law requires all public school districts and charter schools to provide at least 1,044 instructional hours over 169 days each school year to qualify for state funding. The state allows some of these hours to be fulfilled through AMI learning. However, as snow-related school closures add up, schools could soon run out of opportunities to use AMI days.

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, schools can claim up to 36 hours of AMI time toward their required instructional hours, provided that DESE pre-approved the school’s plan. For schools on a traditional five-day schedule, this means around six days of AMI learning can count toward the state’s required hours.

Then What?

There’s a strong possibility some schools have already used six AMI days or are nearing that limit due to multiple snow-related school closures since the start of the 2025 calendar year.

One reason schools often turn to AMI days is if they have run out, or are close to running out, of traditional school days, during which schools are closed and instruction is postponed. So what happens if schools run out of both AMI days and traditional snow days? It gets a little tricky.

Missouri’s DESE’s guidance doesn’t necessarily discourage schools from using more than six AMI days, but it’s not guaranteed that additional AMI days would count toward the hours requirement for funding or keep schools on schedule to end the year on time.

If both the AMI days and state-allotted school days run out, then it depends how specific school districts planned for the possibility of snow impacts before the school year began. Each district can build in a set number of snow days into their calendar. This gives schools some flexibility to adjust the end date of a school year accordingly, given that the state’s hourly instruction requirements are met.

After that, assuming that a school has used its 36 hours lost to weather, 36 hours for AMI learning and however many days it built in, Missouri law lists specific protocols for schools to follow:

1) Schools must make up half of the additional hours missed between 36 and 60 hours. For example, if a school misses four full school days (beyond the 36 hours) due to weather, it only needs to make up two of those days.

2) After reaching the cap of 60 hours missed due to inclement weather and making up hours in accordance with state laws, a school can file a request with Missouri DESE. If approved, eligible schools may not need to make up any further time missed beyond the 60-hour limit, which accounts for roughly 10 non-AMI snow days.

With AMI days and traditional snow days likely for schools across the state on Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly beyond, schools are scrambling to find the right balance in managing snow for the rest of the year. That said, with spring approaching, perhaps schools could find themselves in a better spot with the challenges posed by winter weather after this week.