Many K-12 schools and colleges across Florida were closed Thursday as Nicole, now a tropical storm, travels across the state. Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane south of Vero Beach on Florida’s east coast early Thursday. It quickly weakened back to a tropical storm and is now moving across Florida, inundating parts of the state with rain and wind. See which K-12 schools have closed and which districts have reopened or plan to reopen. Please note that many Florida schools will also be closed Friday for Veterans Day. This list will be updated.
South Florida Schools
▪ Broward County Public schools have extended their closures through Thursday after being closed Wednesday due to Tropical Storm Nicole. All field trips, school-related activities and classes scheduled for Thursday have also been canceled. There is no school Friday for Veterans Day. All sporting activities and events scheduled for Friday and into the weekend will continue as scheduled. READ MORE: Broward schools are closed for the rest of the week as Tropical Storm Nicole approaches ▪ The Archdiocese of Miami announced that Catholic elementary and middle schools in Broward were closed Thursday, but its locations in Miami-Dade and Monroe remained open. All Archdiocese schools in Miami-Dade, Broward and the Keys will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Miami-Dade Public schools were closed Wednesday and reopened Thursday. All adult programs, aftercare, sports and school activities will also continue. There is no school Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ In the Florida Keys, Monroe County public schools remained open. There is no school Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Public schools in Palm Beach County closed Wednesday and Thursday due to the storm. There is no school Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Charter schools in Broward and Palm Beach operated by Charter Schools USA, 20 schools spanning the two counties, also closed Thursday. Palm Beach charter schools will reopen Friday. (No students were in public schools in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties Tuesday because of Election Day.)
Colleges
The Florida Department of Education says the following state colleges were closed Thursday because of Nicole: ▪ Florida State University (FSU) campus in Tallahassee. ▪ University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville ▪ University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando ▪ Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Its main campus is located in Boca Raton. ▪ Florida A&M University (FAMU). Its main campus is in Tallahassee. ▪ University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville ▪ Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland ▪ New College of Florida in Sarasota ▪ Orlando College of Law & Pharmacy ▪ Miami/Davie College of Pharmacy ▪ Jacksonville College of Pharmacy
Other school closures
Here are some of the other school districts that closed for Nicole: ▪ Collier County public schools were closed on Thursday. Charter schools operated by Charter Schools USA were also closed but will reopen Friday in Collier. ▪ Citrus County Schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. The district says because of the closure, the last two half days before Christmas break, Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, will now be full school days. ▪ Brevard County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Bradford County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Sarasota County Public schools were closed Thursday and will reopen Friday, according to the school district. ▪ Manatee County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Franklin County Public schools are closed Thursday and will remain closed Friday due to Nicole. ▪ Baker County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Brevard County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Osceola County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Charter schools operated by Charter Schools USA were also closed. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Bay County Public schools were open Thursday and will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Seminole County Public schools will be closed until Friday for Nicole. ▪ Lake County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will reopen on Friday. ▪ Lee County public schools will resume on Friday. ▪ Volusia County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Glades County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will reopen on Friday. ▪ Indian River County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Martin County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Marion County public schools are closed on Thursday. The district plans to reopen Friday, pending weather and safety inspections. ▪ Okeechobee County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. The region is monitoring the storm before deciding to close on Friday. ▪ Pasco County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will reopen on Friday. Charter schools operated by Charter Schools USA are also closed Thursday but will reopen Friday. ▪ St. Lucie County public schools and charter schools operated by Charter Schools USA are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Hillsborough County public schools and charter schools operated by Charter Schools USA were closed Thursday and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Alachua County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools were already closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Clay County Public schools are closed on Thursday and will remain closed on Friday. ▪ DeSoto County public schools ↔closed Thursday for Nicole and plan to reopen Friday. ▪ Duval County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Flagler County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will be closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Hardy County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. The decision to reopen schools on Friday will be made after the storm passes. ▪ Hendry County Public schools closed Wednesday and Thursday for Nicole. Schools will reopen on Friday. ▪ Hernando County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools are closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Highlands County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Officials expect schools to reopen Friday, but a decision will be made after the storm passes. ▪ Lafayette County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Marion County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools are expected to reopen Friday, pending weather and safety. ▪ Nassau County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Orange County Public schools are closed Thursday and Friday for Nicole. ▪ Polk County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Putnam County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ St. Johns County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Sumter County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole and will remain closed Friday for Veterans Day. ▪ Union County Public schools are closed Thursday and will remain closed Friday for Nicole. ▪ Calhoun County Public schools are closed Thursday for Nicole. School officials are monitoring the progress of the storms and have not yet made a decision on whether to reopen schools on Friday. ▪ Charlotte County schools closed Thursday for Nicole. Schools will have classes on Friday. For the full list of public school districts closed due to Nicole, visit the Florida Department of Education website. There’s never a dull moment in Florida — and Michelle covers it as a Real Time/Breaking News reporter for the Miami Herald. She graduated with honors from Florida International University, where she served as editor-in-chief of Student Media PantherNOW. Previously, he worked as a news writer at WSVN Channel 7 and was a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism Fellow.
