FLORIDA — In Central Florida, several schools districts have announced closures and reopening plans for Hurriance Helene:

Sumter County

  • The Sumter County School District has canceled classes for Thursday and Friday. Any other school cancellations will be posted on the district’s website.

Orange County

  • Orange County Schools will reopen on Friday.

Osceola County

  • There is no school on Friday, Sept. 27, which is a previously scheduled non-student day/teacher professional study day. 

Seminole County

  • At this time, the district anticipates being fully operational and school being in session on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

Lake County

  • District schools will reopen on Friday.

Marion County

  • Marion County Public Schools will close Thursday and Friday for Helene. West Port High School will open Wednesday at 2 p.m. as a shelter for special needs residents, then at 4 p.m. for general sheltering.

Volusia County

  • All schools and offices are planned to reopen on Friday, Sept. 27.

Flagler County

  • The district said schools will remain closed Friday, Sept. 27, but extracurricular activities and sporting events after regular school hours and into the weekend will take place as scheduled.  

Brevard County

  • At this time, district schools will reopen Friday, Sept. 27.

Colleges & Universities

Florida State University

  • FSU’s Tallahassee campus will close Wednesday, Sept. 25, due to Tropical Storm Helene. The closure begins at 7 a.m. and will continue until 11 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29. The university will resume normal operations at 12 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30.

Florida A&M University

University of Central Florida

  • The university canceled classes Thursday, Sept. 26, with normal operations expected to resume at 6 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27. UCF Housing will remain open to students, but all academic programs or events are suspended. 

University of South Florida

  • The university canceled all classes beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and will not resume them until Monday, Sept. 30.   
  • In addition, all USF campuses will be closed beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and will remain closed through at least Friday, Sept. 27.  As of now, the university expects to reopen campuses and return to normal business operations (without classes) on Saturday, Sept. 28. A final decision on the operating status for Saturday, Sept. 28, will be shared with the university community on Friday, Sept. 27.  
  • Residence halls on the Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses remain open. Residence halls in St. Petersburg will close beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 25. USF St. Petersburg residential students without a place to stay will be transported to the Tampa campus. 
  • USF Health clinical facilities will be open on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and will be closed on Thursday, Sept. 26. A decision about Friday, Sept. 27, has not been made at this time. USF Health patients may call the USF Health appointments hotline at 813-821-8038 to reschedule. 

University of Florida

  • University of Florida offices will close and classes will be canceled on Thursday, Sept. 26 due to Hurricane Helene. All academic and student-related activities, including online classes and exams, will also be canceled during that time.

Rollins College

  • All classes, including in-person and online instruction, are canceled on Thursday, Sept. 26. Normal operations are expected to resume on Friday, Sept. 27.
  • During the closure, all academic assignments and exams are suspended, and all activities and events are cancled. All residential housing will remain open, and the main dining hall in Cornell Campus Center and the Fox Lodge will be open. All other dining locations will be closed.

Full Sail University

  • All classes will remain as scheduled through 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25. Full Sail’s campus will be closed for operations on Thursday, Sept. 26. Classes and labs will move to remote operations via Zoom, with potential rescheduling for select campus labs. Contact your instructor for details.

Rasmussen University

  • Rasmussen University Florida campuses will close early on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and remain closed on Thursday, Sept. 26. Faculty and staff may work remotely if it's safe to do so, officials said.

Bethune-Cookman University

  • All in-person and online classes, as well as assignments and campus activities are canceled for Thursday, Sept. 26. At this time, officials say they expect the campus to reopen Friday, Sept. 27.

Seminole State College

  • All campus and online classes are canceled for Thursday, Sept. 26. The college will reopen on Friday.

Eastern State College

  • All classes and events at Eastern State College will be closed Thursday, Sept. 26 because of Hurricane Helene. The campus is expected to reopen for regular business on Friday, Sept. 27, and classes will resume at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30. Evening classes on Wednesday, Sept. 25 will meet as usual.

Valencia College

  • The campus will be closed Thursday, Sept. 26, and all classes are canceled. College officials say they expect classes to resume and that all business operations will resume as normal Friday, Sept. 27.

Daytona State College

  • All in-person and online classes and assignments, as well as other campus activities, are canceled for Thursday, Sept. 26. The campus is expected to reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27.

Lake-Sumter State College

  • All campus locations are closed and all classes and activites are canceled on Thursday, Sept. 26.  A final decision regarding reopening on Friday, Sept. 27 will be sent before 7 a.m. Friday morning and will be sent through the LSSC Alert system, email, and social media. 

Stetson University

  • The university will cancel classes Thursday and close the DeLand campus for normal operations due to Hurricane Helene. Residential buildings will remain open for students. The university will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday, and classes will resume.