San Diego Unified cancels first day of school Monday

San Diego Unified students will have to wait one more day to get the new school year started.

Instead of the planned Monday start, the new school year will now begin on Tuesday, August 22 for students. The start of school was delayed due to the projections related to Tropical Storm Hilary and potential damage of school sites on Sunday into Monday.

Out of an abundance of caution, the second-largest school district in California made the decision to delay the start of the new 2023/24 school year by one day, according to the San Diego County of Education.

Monday, August 21 is now an instructional day and the schools will use the day to assess any issues from the storm and clean up campuses to ensure students have a safe place for students to learn.

The district serves an estimated 120,000 students from pre-school through grade 12 with more than 13,000 employees.

Other school districts, charter schools, and private schools, in conjunction with public safety partners, are continuing to monitor weather and road conditions. Most school districts in the county have already begun the 2023-24 school year and, conditions permitting, will operate as usual on Aug. 21 to ensure students have a safe place to go and learn, according to the Office of Education.