News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Parents pick up their kids from school at Ella White Elementary on Tuesday. Legislators in Lansing are attempting to pass a bill that will forgive some snow days this winter.

ALPENA — Snow days in Northeast Michigan school districts piled up this year after a harsh winter that included a severe ice storm and snowstorm

A bill to forgive those days is in the works, State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for seven northern Michigan counties, including Alpena and Alcona, on March 25. That declaration paved the way for the potential of snow day forgiveness for school districts in those counties.

Typically, school districts in Michigan can cancel six days without consequence and an additional three days if they apply for a waiver from the Michigan Department of Education.

Alpena Public Schools and Alcona Community Schools have canceled 16 days this school year, including five days each for the ice storm.

Area schools also closed schools due to snow and Arctic temperatures this winter.

State Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River, will be sponsoring a bill this year to forgive 2026 ice storm related snow days, Cavitt said. Cavitt was the main sponsor of last year’s bill that forgave snow days that were needed due to the 2025 ice storm.

In the meantime, Cavitt is working on a long-range plan: a bill that would allow school districts in any county declared in a natural disaster zone to have extra snow days forgiven automatically. The bill will have a 10-year sunset period, meaning it will be reviewed in 10 years and legislators can decide if it is still necessary.

Last year, it was said, the ice storm was a once in a lifetime event and nobody alive had seen anything like it, Cavitt said. A long range plan didn’t seem necessary. Now that two storms have devastated the northern Michigan region in less than a year, Cavitt wants to make sure there is a plan in place should this be a new climate trend.

“Any county that suffers a declared natural disaster order would be exempt from any penalties related to missed school,” he said.

Cavitt and Prestin are in discussion with the Michigan Association of School Superintendents and Administrators (MASA) as they put together their bills.

Cavitt also expressed concerns on the other side of the matter. Many believe that students are missing too much school when testing and reading scores are already low across the state.

Then again, extending school into the summer makes it difficult for teachers who have other obligations.

“You get stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Cavitt said

Whether Prestin’s forgiveness bill will be passed and signed earlier than last year is up in the air. School district boards of education were not able to vote on forgiving school days until late in May last year. Cavitt said they will push the 2026 bill through as fast as they can.

Alpena Public Schools board member Monica Dziesinski leans in favor of extending the school year into the summer.

“I value the importance of family and summer days,” she said. “But, we also have to take into consideration that our children have missed 16 instructional days. Taxpayers and parents expect students to learn and attend the schools that they fund, especially in a state where we are ranked near the bottom in education. Every day of learning truly counts so we are in a tough position.”

APS Board President Eric Lawson echoed Dziesinski’s concerns, and added the possibility of attendance issues if the school year is extended.