Dear Boston Public Schools Community,

I am writing to inform you that all Boston Public Schools will be closed on Friday, June 21, 2024. This decision was made after further consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the City of Boston Department of Transportation and the Boston Police about student safety and operational concerns city-wide.

Our school buses transport 23,000 BPS students across our City every day. Given the expected crowds, road closures and detours for the parade route, and our scheduled half day coinciding with the parade times, there is no safe and reliable way to transport our students, especially our youngest learners and special education students, from their schools to their drop-off sites.

The increased traffic could mean students waiting for their bus hours after dismissal, being delayed on hot buses for hours without access to food and water or trying to commute home on the MBTA at the same time as the large anticipated crowds,posing major safety and operational concerns for our students and staff.

Today, Thursday June 20th, is the last day of school for Boston Public Schools.  Any families or caregivers that need to retrieve their students’ belongings should reach out to their school to coordinate.

School-based employees will not be required to report to work tomorrow, but can access their school buildings if needed.

All BPS central and administrative offices will be open and employees are expected to report as usual. Employees who have questions about reporting to work, should contact their supervisor.

We understand families may need to make adjustments to their plans tomorrow, you can visit the Boston Centers for Youth and Families website for community center hours and programming available to any resident in Boston.

Any families with questions can contact the BPS Helpline at 617-635-8873 or via email at helpline@bostonpublicschools.org.  The Helpline is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm.

We hope that our BPS community has a safe, healthy, and restful summer and thank you for your understanding as we work to keep every one of our students safe.