Fifteen area school districts in the Miami Valley, as well as a couple of private schools, have taken steps to allow students to make up calamity days at home if the weather turns bad this winter.

A two-year-old state law lets districts offer online lessons or “blizzard bags” that students can use to make up the work.

Ohio law currently gives school districts five calamity days. After that, districts must schedule make-up days for each day missed.

These participating districts can use the online lesson plans up to three days a year after those first five free calamity days are used.

Betsy Chadd, director of curriculum and gifted services for Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools, said her district opted into the program this school year and 2011-12, the first year it was available.

Chadd noted technology is becoming “a bigger and bigger part of our curriculum offerings,” she said. “For convenience reasons, it gives us an opportunity for students to complete work and we would not have to add days to the calendar.”

Districts are required to give students two weeks to turn in the make-up work to their teachers. “Blizzard bags,” the term used for physical copies of the assigned work, also are available for those who may not have Internet access at home.

Participating districts were required to pass a resolution by Aug. 1. Statewide, about 120 of the state’s 613 school districts opted in, as well as about 20 private schools, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

Clark-Shawnee Local Superintendent Gregg Morris recalled that two winters ago — when districts were given only three calamity days — his district ended up using nine calamity days so they had to make up six.

Last year’s very mild winter resulted in his district using zero calamity days so the online lesson plans were never used.

Those plans may be updated for use this winter, for which the Farmers’ Almanac is predicting “plenty of cold and snow” for the eastern half of the United States.

Clark-Shawnee’s Assistant Superintendent Brian Kuhn said teachers must have their plans posted on the teacher web pages and hard copies available at the principal’s office by the end of October.

Miami Valley school districts that can use online lessons, “blizzard bags” for calamity days:

Montgomery County

Northmont

Valley View

Miami Valley Career Technology Center

Greene County

Bellbrook-Sugarcreek

Miami County

Tipp City

Miami East

Troy Christian

Clark County

Clark-Shawnee

Springfield-Clark CTC

Guiding Shepherd

Butler County

Butler Tech CTC

Warren County

Warren County CTC

Preble County

Eaton

National Trail

Darke County

Mississinawa Valley

Tri-Village

Versailles