Icy roads extended North Texas school closures for a third day on Wednesday as freezing temperatures refused to relinquish their grip on the region. The aftermath of Winter Storm Fern continued to disrupt education across Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing districts to make difficult decisions about student and staff safety.
Most North Texas school districts remained closed on January 28 due to lingering ice on roadways, with administrators carefully monitoring conditions to determine whether Thursday would bring a return to normalcy. The closures affected tens of thousands of students across the metroplex as district officials prioritized safety over classroom time.
Safety First: Districts Explain Extended Closures
Lewisville ISD was among those extending closures for a third consecutive day, citing an “abundance of caution” as their primary concern. “Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff, LISD campuses and facilities will continue to be closed Wednesday, Jan. 28,” the district announced while pointing to melting and refreezing cycles that left neighborhood roads and sidewalks treacherous.
Similarly, Denton ISD made its decision following consultation with emergency management officials. “This decision follows continued monitoring of weather conditions in coordination with Denton County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service. Several safety concerns remain across the area, including icy and hazardous road conditions impacted by prolonged freezing temperatures,” district officials explained.
Northwest ISD joined the growing list of closures, stating that “In the interest of student and staff safety, all Northwest ISD schools and facilities will remain closed and classes are canceled through Wednesday, Jan. 28.” Officials noted that while major thoroughfares had improved, residential and rural roads throughout the district remained hazardous.
What happens next? Each district planned to evaluate road conditions once again, monitor weather forecasts, and assess campus safety before making decisions about Thursday operations. Most expected conditions to improve by Wednesday evening as temperatures finally climbed above freezing.
Widespread Impact Across North Texas
The closure list read like a who’s who of North Texas education. Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Frisco ISD, Arlington ISD, Garland ISD, Plano ISD, and more than a dozen other major districts suspended operations. Even the University of North Texas closed all campuses, extending the disruption to higher education.
The winter storm’s timing created headaches for administrators already juggling tight academic calendars. Dallas ISD, which had initially planned to resume classes on Wednesday, had already designated Monday, April 6, and Monday, May 4, as makeup days to recover lost instructional time from previous closures.
For parents, the extended closures meant another day of childcare challenges and disrupted work schedules. Many families had already weathered two unexpected days at home when Winter Storm Fern first swept through the region on January 26-27, forcing districts to either cancel in-person classes entirely or shift to online learning.
School closings are typically reported when relayed directly by school systems to local media outlets. The comprehensive list grew to include more than 60 school districts and institutions across the region as conditions remained dangerous.
While main highways had largely cleared by Wednesday morning, the network of neighborhood streets, school parking lots, and bus routes presented a patchwork of dangerous conditions that ultimately tipped the scales toward another day of caution. For most districts, the promise of warmer temperatures by Thursday offered hope that the extended winter break might finally come to an end — at least until the next Texas weather surprise.
