As Helene approaches Florida, some local school districts have announced their closures.
Tropical Storm Helene is expected to become a hurricane.
View school closures per province:
Brevard County
Brevard Public Schools has not provided any updates on school closures at this time.
Flagler County
Flagler Schools has not provided any updates on school closures at this time.
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More County
Lake County public schools are closed due to the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.
Marion County
Marion County Public Schools has announced that the district will be closed due to Tropical Storm Helene.
All after-school activities on Thursday have been cancelled.
West Port High School will open Wednesday at 2 p.m. as a special needs shelter, the school’s only animal shelter for the time being.
MCPS said it will monitor weather conditions and emergency response guidelines to determine whether classes will resume Friday.
Orange County
Orange County Public Schools has announced that schools will be closed on Thursday, September 26.
All after-school activities must be completed by 6:00 PM on Wednesday, September 25.
OCPS said, “Any decision to close schools on Friday, September 27, will be determined by the impact on Orange County and the timing of the storm.”
The school district said it will continue to communicate updates through phone calls, emails, text messages, social media pages and the OCPS website.
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Osceola County
The Osceola County School District has announced that all schools will be open on Wednesday, September 25, but will be closed on Thursday, September 26 due to Tropical Storm Helene.
All activities and events on Wednesday will continue as normal, including athletics.
All schools and district offices will be closed on Thursday, September 26.
The school district will update its website and social media platforms on Friday.
Polk County
Polk County Public Schools does not expect any significant storm impacts on Wednesday, September 25, but will cancel or reschedule after-school programs and sports activities.
Activities end at 6pm on Friday
Schools and offices will remain open on Wednesday according to normal opening hours.
The school district will close all PCPS schools and offices on Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 due to tropical storm force winds and heavy rainfall.
PCPS plans to reopen on Monday, September 30.
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Seminole County
Seminole County Public Schools has announced that schools will be closed to students on Thursday, September 26.
The school district has announced that there will be no extracurricular activities, sporting events or other school activities, including KidZone & Beyond and 21st Century childcare services.
SCPS said it would monitor weather conditions and evaluate conditions on campus.
At this time, SCPS reports that school will reopen on Friday, September 27, but will notify families if there are any changes to the schedule.
Sumter County
Schools in Sumter are closed on Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 due to Tropical Storm Helene.
The school district said it would announce any additional school closures on its website, through school signs and through phone messages.
Volusia County
Volusia County Schools will close all after-school activities on Wednesday, September 25, with the exception of Extended Day Enrichment Programs.
The district will close all schools and offices on Thursday, September 26.
VCS said Friday that there are no changes yet, including activities and athletics.
Authorities do not expect schools to be used as shelters.
VCS operational teams will be checking schools and bus routes for storm debris after Helene.
Employees and families should check their emails and social media for updates.
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Colleges and universities
Seminole State College
Seminole State College has canceled all classes and activities for Thursday, September 26.
The campus and classes will continue until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25.
Officials said they will continue to monitor the storm until it reopens on Friday.
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida cancels all classes on Thursday, September 26.
Campus activities are also suspended. As long as the university is closed, academic assignments and exams are also suspended.
University officials said the campus will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25.
UCF Housing will be open during the storm and there are no plans to depopulate the campus.
UCF plans to reopen on Friday, September 27.
Officials will provide updates via UCF Alert, social media and on their website.
College of Central Florida
The College of Central Florida has announced that it will close all of its campuses.
Examples include the Ocala Campus, Wilton Simpson Citrus Campus, Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus, Hampton Center, Appleton Museum and Vintage Farm, and online classes.
School administrators said planned activities have also been cancelled.
The Wilton Simpson Citrus Campus and the Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus will be closed at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, September 25 for storm preparations.
All other campus activities will close at 5:00 PM from Wednesday, September 25 through Friday, September 27.
CF plans to reopen for normal operations on Saturday morning, weather permitting.
The university will post updates on its website.
Lake Sumter State College
Lake-Sumter State College is closing all campus locations and canceling all classes and activities on Thursday, September 26.
Lake-Sumter State College has four campus locations:
The university said it will continue to provide updates through the LSSC Alert system, email and social media.
Florida State University
The Florida State University campus in Tallahassee has announced it will close.
The campus is closed from Wednesday 25 September to Sunday 29 September.
The university expects to resume normal operations on Monday, September 30 at 12:00 noon.
The university will post updates on its website.
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