Which Texas schools will close for the April solar eclipse?

The sun is about to be entirely eclipsed by the moon, y’all. And if hotel booking sites are any gauge on how many people will flock to San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country to catch a glimpse of this rare phenomenon, things are about to get hectic up in here. But what does that mean for San Antonio and Hill Country schools?

While there wasn’t quite the crazy traffic jam on major highways and roads around the Alamo City for the last eclipse event – something we admittedly warned might happen – but April 8 marks the big eclipse. The kind of eclipse that left the Northeast gridlocked when it happened back in 2017. And hotels from San Antonio to Kerrville started booking up completely last year, so it really is about to be the big one.

With all that added traffic and tourism crowding Texas roads, you may be wondering which schools are going to be open and which are going to be closed. It’s not like San Antonio is without traffic woes on a good day, so this major event could lead to some pretty significant slowdowns for morning commuters dropping the kids off for the day. We’ve compiled a list of all the schools in the area that are both open and closed come April 8. Just a heads up: Most of the major school districts in San Antonio will be business as usual while many Hill Country ISDs have opted to alleviate the headache for parents.

“Due to the large number of people expected to visit our area for the eclipse on April 8, we wanted to ensure that we had a student and staff holiday. We were proactive and placed this on our district calendar last year prior to the school year starting so families could plan ahead,” Boerne ISD Communications Director Bryan Benway told MySA. “We wanted to avoid having our families on the roads with increased traffic. It is just much safer for our families that way. It will also be a great at-home learning experience for our students.”

Benway said the district’s teaching and learning department have worked diligently to aide educators in lessons plans and activities that help teach kids about the upcoming eclipse before the day off. While many San Antonio ISDs are opting to remain open – with the exception of South San ISD who opted to keep kids at home while staff is still slated to report for duty that Monday – officials told MySA local districts are opting to use the event and active school day as a learning opportunity.

“We are excited that students across our district will have the opportunity to experience the solar eclipse with engaging and fun activities being planned at our campuses,” Northside ISD PIO Barry Perez told MySA. “Since the total eclipse occurs on a school day, Northside ISD will provide viewing glasses for all students and staff to safely view this incredible phenomenon.”

Here’s a comprehensive list of all the districts in and around San Antonio and what their plans are for the April 8 total eclipse:

• NISD – Regular schedule
• SAISD – Regular schedule
• NEISD – Regular schedule
• South San ISD – Student holiday/faculty instruction and planning day
• Southside ISD – Regular schedule
• Comal ISD – Regular schedule
• Medina Valley ISD – Holiday for students/staff
• Boerne ISD – Holiday for students/staff
• Comfort ISD – School holiday
• Alamo Heights ISD – Regular schedule
• Schertz-Cibilo-Universal City ISD – Regular schedule
• Randolph Field ISD – Regular schedule
• Fort Sam Houston ISD – Regular schedule
• Edgewood ISD – Regular schedule
• East Central ISD – Regular schedule
• Judson ISD – Regular schedule
• Southwest ISD – Regular Schedule
• Somerset ISD – Regular Schedule
• IDEA Public Schools – Regular Schedule
• Temple ISD – Classes cancelled
• Killeen ISD – Classes cancelled
• Kerrville ISD – Holiday for students/staff