Welcome to

Half of the school districts in the state shut down today as Fay continued to take out her fury on Florida. The storm could also give college students an extended summer break, but as Whitney Ray tells us, if universities open their doors and students don’t show, they could be dropped from their classes.

Hear it Here: Fay Could Force First Day Absentees of College Rosters

For the fifth straight day Fay brought winds and rains inland. K-12 students living in areas of the state flooded by the storm got the day off Friday, a vacation on loan.

“We’re going to find ways to accommodate these missed days without too much harm to summer vacation,” said Commissioner of Education Eric Smith.

Hear it Here: Fay Could Force First Day Absentees of College Rosters

Despite half the school districts in Florida closed because of Fay, State Universities like FSU, still plan to hold their first day of class Monday, but they’ll consider changing rules for students stuck in the storm.

A statewide policy allows universities to drop students from class rosters if they don’t show up on the first day. FSU Freshman Francesca Ciniao didn’t want to take the chance of being trapped in the storm.

“We just decided to make a run for it,” Francesca said.

Matthew Spaunburgh waited too long and drove through the storm to get to campus.

“I couldn’t see more than 10 feet ahead of me. I had to have my high beams on and I was scared driving through this. It was rough,” said Mathew.

Administrators are willing to bend the roster rule for students who don’t want to risk driving in the storm. They just want to be told in advance.

“If they hadn’t notified us in advance, the worst case scenario is they’ll be dropped from their classes. If they will get in touch with us as soon as they can we can put them back in those classes,” said FSU Assistant Vice President of Enrollment John Barnhill.

If things get bad on campus, it could be the professors who are absent on the first day. University administrators are watching the storm, and could decide to cancel the first day of class. Seven community colleges and the Universities of Florida and North Florida closed campuses Friday.