The Lilac Fire that plagued North County last week took a toll on many families. It scorched through 4,100 acres and ruined nearly 200 different structures. Hundreds of families and multiple schools, like Sullivan Middle School and Bonsall High School, were evacuated.

This wind-whipped wild fire did not burn its way to Carlsbad like it did back in 2014 during the Poinsettia Fires. Even though the fire did not reach the city, the Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) did choose to close schools on Dec. 8 for a variety of reasons.

“Student and staff safety is our top priority,” Dr. Benjamin Churchill, superintendent of CUSD, said, “Because of the potential loss of critical support infrastructure, including power and communications networks, as well as poor air quality, we decided the most prudent course of action was to close schools and the district office.”

After missing that Friday, the question of whether or not students will have to make up that school day has been circulating.

The answer is no.

According to the California Department of Education (CDE), there is, “a requirement for 180 instructional days.” However, “state law permits a school district to waive that requirement and file a claim for average daily attendance (ADA) in the case of an emergency condition that causes a district to close, like a wildfire (Education Code Sections 41422 and 46392, and California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 428),” Dr. Churchill explained.

Dr. Churchill noted that CUSD will be submitting its waiver packet in conjunction with 11 other school districts in San Diego County.

“We have no reason to believe that the waiver application will be denied, and as such we’re not developing plans to add a school day,” Dr. Churchill said.