Emergency Closures

In the event of an emergency or severe weather, the district may use one of the schedules listed below. Details for each schedule may be based on the specific situation and will be communicated through direct messages to staff and families.

While we do our best to make decisions to keep all students safe, conditions may vary throughout the district. Please take into consideration your personal situation and make the appropriate decision to keep you and your student safe. Tardies and absences due to weather-related safety issues will be excused.

Emergency Closure Schedules

One-Hour Late Start

All BSD schools, including Evergreen Transition Program and preschool, will start one hour late and dismiss at the normal time.
- Community-based instruction for Evergeen Transition Program will occur only at staff's discretion, per road conditions.
Transportation
- BSD buses will run one hour late from their regular schedule.
- No morning and midday shuttles.
- No out of district transportation, including:
  - McKinney-Vento taxi service
  - Shuttles between schools
  - Tutorial and activity buses
- If your student uses Metro, check the Metro website for the best available route.
  - During periods of poor weather, Metro will attempt to maintain service according to their regular schedule — even if school is to start late. Please listen to messages and have alternative means arranged to get to and from school if poor weather is present or predicted.
No breakfast will be served at schools.
Childcare with Right At School and Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue will typically follow the district schedule. Please reach out to them directly to confirm daily schedules.
Tardies and absences due to weather-related safety issues will be excused.
Schools will communicate daily class schedules.
No before school activities.
Tutorial and after school activities are canceled for elementary and middle school.
The Athletics Department will communicate any athletics or field trip implications.

Two-Hour Late Start

All BSD schools, including Evergreen Transition Program and preschool, will start two hours late and dismiss at the normal time.
- Community-based instruction for Evergeen Transition Program will occur only at staff's discretion, per road conditions.
Transportation
- Buses will run two hours late, following the Snow Routes schedule. Stops may be moved to main roads.
- No morning and midday shuttles.
- No out of district transportation, including:
  - McKinney-Vento taxi service
  - Shuttles between schools
  - Tutorial and activity buses
- If your student uses Metro, check the Metro website for the best available route.
  - During periods of poor weather, Metro will attempt to maintain service according to their regular schedule — even if school is to start late. Please listen to messages and have alternative means arranged to get to and from school if poor weather is present or predicted.
No breakfast will be served at schools.
Childcare with Right At School and Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue will typically follow the district schedule. Please reach out to them directly to confirm daily schedules.
Tardies and absences due to weather-related safety issues will be excused.
Schools will communicate daily class schedules.
No before school activities.
Tutorial and after school activities are canceled for elementary and middle school.
The Athletics Department will communicate any athletics or field trip implications.

Closed

All BSD schools, including Evergreen Transition Program and preschool, will be closed for the day.
- Refunds will not be given for preschool if schools are closed due to snow or emergency conditions.
There will be no transportation.
Meal services will not be available.
Childcare with Right At School and Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue will typically follow the district schedule. Please reach out to them directly to confirm daily schedules.
All before and after school activities will be canceled, including field trips, athletics* and community use events.
- *Exceptions for athletics may be made during the post-season and will be communicated by the Athletics Department.

Early Dismissal

All BSD schools, including Evergreen Transition Program and preschool, will dismiss early.
Transportation
- Regular bus service will be available.
- Please plan to meet at your student’s bus stop or ensure that your student has an emergency plan in place.
- Students uncomfortable getting off the bus would be returned to BSD Transportation to await parent/guardian pick-up.
- Field trip groups that are already out would be returned to school.
- No activity bus for elementary and middle schools.
- If your student uses Metro, check the Metro website for the best available route.
  - During periods of poor weather, Metro will attempt to maintain service according to their regular schedule — even if school is to start late. Please listen to messages and have alternative means arranged to get to and from school if poor weather is present or predicted.
School meal service will depend on the time of release.
Childcare with Right At School and Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue will typically follow the district schedule. Please reach out to them directly to confirm daily schedules.
Schools will communicate impacts to daily schedules.
All after school activities will be canceled, including tutorial and community use events.
- If school is dismissed early on a Friday due to weather-related conditions, there would be no community facility use on the weekend, even if conditions improve.
The Athletics Department will communicate any athletics implications.

View All Schedules in a Table Format

	1-Hour Late Start	2-Hour Late Start	Closed	Early Dismissal
Schools and Full-Day Programs (including Preschool and Evergreen Transition Program)	1-hour delay in opening time Dismiss at the normal time _{Community-based instruction for Evergreen Transition Program will occur only at staff's discretion, per road conditions.}	2-hour delay in opening time Dismiss at the normal time _{Community-based instruction for Evergreen Transition Program will occur only at staff's discretion, per road conditions.}	Canceled _{Refunds will not be given for preschool if schools are closed due to snow or emergency conditions.}	Dismiss early
Class Schedules	Schools will communicate	Schools will communicate	n/a	Schools will communicate
District Transportation	1-hour delay from regular schedule	2-hour delay from regular schedule _{Will follow Snow Routes schedule, and stops may be moved to main roads}	Canceled	Regular bus service _{Students uncomfortable getting off the bus would be returned to BSD Transportation to await parent/guardian pick-up.}
Morning and Midday Shuttles	Canceled	Canceled	Canceled	n/a
Out of District Transportation	Canceled: McKinney-Vento taxi service Shuttles between schools Tutorial and activity buses	Canceled: McKinney-Vento taxi service Shuttles between schools Tutorial and activity buses	Canceled	Canceled: Activity bus for elementary and middle schools
Metro Transportation	Check Metro website to confirm _{Metro will attempt to maintain service in periods of poor weather.}	Check Metro website to confirm _{Metro will attempt to maintain service in periods of poor weather.}	n/a	Check Metro website to confirm _{Metro will attempt to maintain service in periods of poor weather.}
School Meals	No breakfast	No breakfast	Canceled	Depends on time of release
Childcare	Childcare with Right At School and Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue will typically follow the district schedule. Please reach out to them directly to confirm daily schedules.
Before School Activities	Canceled	Canceled	Canceled	n/a
Tutorial and After School Activities	Canceled for elementary and middle school	Canceled for elementary and middle school	Canceled	Canceled
Athletics	Athletics Department will communicate	Athletics Department will communicate	Canceled _{Exceptions may be made during post-season and will be communicated by the Athletics Department.}	Athletics Department will communicate
Field Trips	Athletics Department will communicate	Athletics Department will communicate	Canceled	Groups already out are returned to school
Community Use of Facilities	n/a	n/a	Canceled	Canceled _{If school is dismissed early on a Friday due to weather-related conditions, there would be no facility use on the weekend, even if conditions improve.}

Communication of Schedule Changes

During instances of inclement weather or severe conditions that could result in a delayed or canceled school day, BSD will communicate any schedule changes to families through direct messages, including: phone calls, emails and text messages. You may also check the following places to find out if the district is on an emergency schedule:

BSD Homepage
Your School’s Homepage
BSD Mobile App (download on the App Store or Google Play)
Facebook
Instagram
FlashAlert
Local TV/Radio Stations

Tips for Receiving District Messages

Tips for Receiving District Messages

Contact information - Complete online student data verification every school year to ensure your contact information is accurate. If you have already completed your data verification this year, no further action is needed. If you have not yet completed the process, you may make changes now to update your record. If you need support accessing data verification, please reach out to your school’s office manager (elementary) or registrar (middle and high).
SchoolMessenger: Set up an account (online or via the app) to view previous messages and manage your notification preferences. Use the same email address used for online student verification in ParentVUE.
- Phone calls: Save the phone number 425-456-4072 in your contacts to ensure that calls show up as “Bellevue School District.” There have been some reports of users who have received the calls as “Potential Spam.”
- Text messages: To receive SMS texts from SchoolMessenger, send a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to BSD’s short code number, 67587. You will then receive confirmation that you have registered for SchoolMessenger notifications.
- Emails: Check your Junk/Spam folder. Depending on your email provider, you may need to mark email from the Bellevue School District as “safe,” or “move to inbox” to ensure future messages will not go to hidden folders.
BSD Mobile App: Download the app on the App Store or Google Play to receive notifications when news is posted.

Emergency Closure Decision Making

Collecting Information and Examining Conditions

In the event of inclement weather or emergency circumstances, district staff gather information to help make the best decision possible. During weather events, BSD staff continually monitor conditions with a commitment to making decisions as timely as possible to ensure staff, student and family safety. Where possible, decisions are made the evening before the next school day.

Otherwise, BSD staff begin evaluating conditions across the district at approximately 3:30 a.m. The typical process is as follows:

District leadership reviews weather forecasts to monitor whether regional conditions are improving or deteriorating -- including within neighboring districts.
Transportation staff assesses road conditions by driving through areas in Bellevue most likely to be impacted, including higher elevations and known areas vulnerable to unsafe driving conditions.
- If conditions at that time are safe for buses, a normal start time is decided.
- If not, a delay or closure is announced.
When inclement weather is forecasted, custodial and maintenance staff are asked to report to work early so they can report on conditions and begin maintaining grounds according to the plans the Facilities department has outlined for each school.
- When needed, personnel are mobilized at school sites to help keep traffic flow safe and address slick areas as appropriate.

Determining What is Best for the Entire District

There are three options available:

Leave schools open
Late start (1 or 2 hours)
Close schools

Late starts are utilized when conditions are marginal, and the additional time and daylight make it easier for students to get to school safely.

For communication and administrative reasons, it is not possible to close just some schools in the district while leaving other schools open for districtwide weather events. Decisions on opening status must be the best one for the safety of students in all areas of the district while at the same time avoiding unnecessary disruption.

Alerts from the district will include information about excused tardies. When significant weather impacts our community, we will inform families that all late arrivals will be excused so that families feel empowered and supported to make choices that are best for your circumstances.

Making Decisions

The Superintendent makes the final decision after receiving information from departments. If there is a closure or late start, the district will communicate directly with families, students and staff, as outlined in the Communication of Schedule Changes section above.

Families can and should make decisions that are unique to their situation. If conditions specific to your neighborhood or home make travel unsafe, please delay the arrival of your student. Inform your school of your decision so that school staff can monitor the well-being of all our students.