New Late Start Time To Be Used By Harford County Schools

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A new late start time has been rolled out for the 2025-2026 school year by Harford County Public Schools.

School officials rely on a one-hour delay, a two-hour delay and a now a three-hour delay to help keep students and staff safe when the weather doesn't cooperate. Jillian Lader, spokesperson for Harford County Public Schools, told Patch that the operational decision was implemented this year as "an additional option for when forecast and weather conditions occur in the morning."

"It will allow staff more time to assess the impact of forecasts and potentially prepare schools to still open and operate. It is like a 3-hour early dismissal, just implemented at the beginning of the day," Lader told Patch.

On a regular school day, approximately 5,000 staff members and approximately 40,000 students are on the road, whether it's by riding a school bus, walking to school or in a personal vehicle. Now, HCPS has an additional option in the event of inclement weather.

School closures can be determined the night before school, the morning of a school day by 5:15 a.m. and:

• By 5:45 A.M. if a one-hour delay was first implemented;
• By 6:45 A.M. if a two-hour delay was first implemented;

• By 7:45 A.M. if a three-hour delay was first implemented

Officials noted that school closures must be made up and HCPS will use inclement weather days built into the end of the school year. Late starts do not need to be made up and count toward the state-mandated 180-day school year.

With a delay, take your students' normal schedule and add the delay time to adjust your schedule. For example, if you normally arrive at the bus stop at 6:30 a.m., with a one-hour delay, arrive at 7:30 a.m. On a two-hour delay, arrive at the bus stop at 8:30 a.m. and on a three-hour delay, arrive at the bus stop at 9:30 a.m.

With a one-hour delay, the Early Learner and Learning Together morning programs also will delay one hour. With a two-hour delay, there won't be any Early Learner and Learning Together morning programs but the afternoon programs will meet. With a three-hour delay, there won't be any Early Learner or Learning Together programs operating.

The decision to dismiss early for inclement weather will be made as close to 9:30 a.m. as possible for any variation of time for an early dismissal, whether one, two or three hours early.

Weather-related decisions will be communicated via email, with a push notification through the HCPS app and by a phone call. Such messages also will be posted on the school's website.