By Lisa Autry
Frankfort, KY – Many classrooms around Kentucky are empty this week because of the weather. Snow days lengthen the school year, but there may be a way to avoid that in the future. The state plans to launch a pilot project as early as next year that would feature an online program students could use at home. The education department's Lisa Gross says the main challenge is computer access.
"One of the concerns in Kentucky and a lot of other states too, is that perhaps a lot of students don't have computer access at home, and if they're stuck at home because they can't get to school, it would be very difficult for them to go to someplace like a public library that does offer free internet access."
The same online system could also be used in the event of natural disasters and illness, such as a flu outbreak.