CPS addresses removing AMI days at board meeting
Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Public Schools will no longer use alternative methods of instruction for inclement weather days following recent changes to state law.
The Columbia Board of Education addressed the recent changes during its meeting on Monday.
The district announced the change in an email to families on Oct. 10, stating that new state legislative updates were shared after the Columbia Public Schools Board of Education approved the 2026–27 academic calendar on Sept. 8. Because of the timing, the district’s Calendar Committee met on Sept. 29 to review the new requirements and determine next steps.
CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark told ABC 17 News the district was “relieved” by the change in the law, explaining that the original language had led to widespread confusion and misinterpretation among school districts.
“It’s a smoother decision process and certainly we hope that there’s some ease for families to,” Baumstark said.
Under the new rules, the district no longer needs to use alternative methods of instruction, or AMI, to make up for days missed due to weather. CPS officials said the district already exceeds the state’s minimum requirements of 169 instructional days and 1,044 instructional hours, plus 36 hours for inclement weather — a total of 1,104 hours.
That means no additional makeup days will be required, and students will have traditional snow days instead of AMI learning days. The district will continue to provide optional “choice boards” for families who want learning resources during closures.
“Many families really liked having those activities available to them on winter weather days, and so we’ll continue to do that,” Baumstark said. We should have those available for families who choose to use them next month.”
Baumstark says even before the new law, CPS has always exceeded the mandatory instructional hours when creating their schedule, but added that getting rid of AMI days makes things easier for staff.
“This was actually a change in state law that occurred at the end of last school year. It allowed us to make an adjustment to our calendar last year,” Baumstark said. It is also now allowing us to continue that adjustment for the school year calendar as well as next school year calendar.”
Inclement weather, as defined by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, includes conditions such as snow, ice, extreme cold or heat, flooding and tornadoes.
Because of the updated legislation, CPS will adjust both the 2025–26 and 2026–27 calendars. The only change the district plans to make to this year’s calendar is removing AMI language and snowflake graphics that were previously used to mark inclement weather days.
Last school year, CPS used all of its available AMI days during a stretch of snowstorms that kept students out of class for more than a week.