Gone are the days of children waiting anxiously for officials to close schools after (and sometimes before) a snowstorm. New York’s Department of Education announced there will be no more snow days and students will be expected to participate in remote learning in the event of a weather emergency.

A result of COVID-19 stay home orders, public school students switched to remote learning after schools closed in 2020 to prevent the spread of the virus. The DOE distributed thousands of laptops and tablets for students to continue their education. Another change is on Election Day, when school buildings are closed due to them being used as voting sites, all students will participate in remote learning.

“In order to meet the New York State mandate of 180 in-session school days, rather than cut into spring break, religious observances, or the already short and much-needed summer, we will pivot to remote learning days during rare instances when schools close due to inclement weather,” the DOE said in statement. “We are sad for a year without snow days but we must meet the State mandate and we can leverage the technology we invested in during the pandemic so our students get the instructional days required by the State.”