School Snow Days Are Back — For Now — In Massachusetts: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Thursday, Nov. 11. Today is Veterans Day. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• State education rules designed to force districts to resume full-day, in-classroom learning amid the coronavirus health crisis last spring are now poised to bring back the traditional snow day this winter.
• The Massachusetts State Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously in support of "Nero's Law," a bill that would allow injured police K-9 units to receive emergency medical care and transport from paramedics.
• Survey results show a drastic increase in mental health problems reported by middle and high school students during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

State education rules designed to force districts to resume full-day, in-classroom learning amid the coronavirus health crisis last spring are now poised to bring back the traditional snow day this winter.

With students already in hybrid or full-remote learning during the pandemic, many school districts across the state ditched the traditional snow days in place of a remote learning day in bad weather, so they would not have to tack on an extra make-up day at the end of the school year in June. But school districts may not have a choice to continue the policy this year because state guidelines released last spring only allow remote learning to count toward required learning hours if it is the result of a coronavirus quarantine.

"In talking with the Department of Ed this week right now there is no allowance for remote days for snow days," Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike said. "They have not issued any guidance for that at this point. So right now if we were to have an inclement weather day it would have to be a traditional snow day because they are not allowing remote days — only in the event of a classroom closure due to COVID, not for snow days.

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

Pandemic raises mental health concerns in schools: A quarter of all Melrose high and middle school students reported their mental health was not good most of or all the time due to the pandemic, with that number exploding to 82 percent among genderqueer high school students and 57 percent among genderqueer middle school students. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, given every two years, was administered to students in grades 6-12. Melrose was part of the survey given to Middlesex League region.

Help for police K-9s: The Massachusetts State Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously in support of "Nero's Law," a bill that would allow injured police K-9 units to receive emergency medical care and transport from paramedics. The bill is named after Yarmouth K9 Nero, Sgt. Sean Gannon's dog, who was shot in the face and neck when Gannon was fatally shot during a police standoff in 2018. Nero ultimately made a full recovery, but he had to wait four hours before a retired K-9 handler could arrive at the scene and get him to a veterinarian for surgery.

Veterans Day In Massachusetts

Bill aims to give Black service members their benefits: A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, is reviving an effort to pay the families of Black servicemen who fought on behalf of the nation during World War II for benefits they were denied or prevented from taking full advantage of when they returned home from war. The new legislative effort would benefit surviving spouses and all living descendants of Black WWII veterans whose families were denied the opportunity to build wealth with housing and educational benefits through the GI Bill.

Massachusetts: Tell Someone You're Grateful For Them This Holiday Season

In Case You Missed It

Parents, palyers fight at youth hockey game: Tewksbury police are investigating a reported fight between parents and athletes at a youth hockey game Saturday, the department said Wednesday. A fight broke out among players at the end of an 18U league game between teams from Tewksbury and Raynham, police said. The fight escalated and parents got involved, according to the police news release. At least one player was cut on the face, but no ambulances were needed.

By The Numbers

48: The height, in feet, of a 60-year-old white spruce tree cut down in Nova Scotia on Wednesday. The tree is en route to Boston, where it will serve as the city's official Christmas tree.