JACKSON TWP — A slang term employed by Seneca Valley School District moms appears likely to spread to the rest of the county and state.

“FID” is used like a noun. Want to hear it in a sentence?

“The joy of getting to tell them they don't have to go to school is kind of dampened by the work they have to do for the FID.”

The work-from-home snow days used in the Seneca Valley School District appear primed to arrive at other districts this school year.

Nearly unanimous votes in both the state House of Representatives and Senate sent a senate bill to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk last week. Wolf's signature is all that's needed to adopt Senate Bill 440, a bill directing the Department of Education to set formal rules on how “flexible instructional days” can be used by interested districts statewide.

Previously, the snow day alternatives were only employed in a select few districts, one of which was Seneca Valley. The district got involved in a pilot program back in the 2014-15 school year. The program isn't currently set to continue in the 2019-20 school year.

Flexible instructional days, or FIDs, are stay-at-home work days to be used either instead of or in addition to regular snow days. Students are given pre-made assignments to do through online portals, and the days count toward the district's state mandated 180 instructional days. In Seneca Valley, students had 10 days to complete the missed work from each snow day.

Advocates say the days help districts avoid pushing the school calendar into summer months, plus they make calling a snow day an easier decision for administrators when road conditions are questionable.

For parents of Seneca Valley students, FIDs bring both good and bad. Halley Bannon, mother of a high school student and one recent graduate, said the days ease lots of bad situations but can also cramp classic snow day fun.

“I let them sleep in,” Bannon said. “Then they'd wake up and say, oh there's no school. Then they hop online and look at all the work ahead of them.”

When FIDs first entered their lives, she explained, the at-home work seemed to be fairly easy to get through quickly. But as teachers have gotten used to the idea, she believes, they've started treating the day like any other school day — and making assignments as such. She said she noticed, through discussion with other parents, that it seems teachers who are newer to the profession assign more than veterans to the trade.

Their family appreciated the safety net for their summer vacations, and she still thinks the concept is great. But her younger son has grown tired of FIDs.

“Be prepared for a little extra workload on those snow days,” she advised parents in other districts. “But, truthfully, still try to enjoy your day.”

The bill received unanimous support in the Senate and received only one holdout vote in the House from a Philadelphia representative. Wolf's press office did not respond to a request seeking information on when it may be signed or otherwise considered.

Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21, was one of the bill's eight sponsors in the Senate. Hutchinson's district includes a slice of Butler County encompassing both Butler and Cranberry Township.

The House Committee on Appropriations estimated the law's cost at $142,000. The price tag is for a new statewide position to oversee the program.

Seneca Valley's superintendent was unavailable for comment due to summer operating hours and vacation scheduling. Brian White, superintendent of the Butler Area School District, offered a statement on the legislation.

“We look forward to learning more about flexible instruction days and how they might apply to Butler Area School District,” White said. “We appreciate that the state is enabling local school districts to choose whether or not to implement flexible instruction days at the local level.”