Millions of students will have an extra long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, with schools closed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and other major cities, citing cold and snow.

The year is expected to bring fresh conversations on how artificial intelligence (AI) use in the classroom should be legislated, as well as debate on matters such as school choice and how to teach subjects including reading.

There are numerous reasons students are missing school, including socio-emotional troubles, illness and poor academic performance itself—and administrators are tackling the problem in a variety of ways, too.

Some schools have partnered with companies to implement the use of pouches that students are required to put their phones into at the beginning of the day and that don’t unlock until the final bell rings, while others are threatening punishments including suspension if a student is caught with their phone, even at lunch time.

President Joe Biden had some lofty education goals during his 2020 campaign. The president made promises that included increased education funding and reforms to higher education and student debt.

In a news release, PAT said its tentative agreement with the school district includes “expanded language on target class sizes and caseloads including new committees to discuss growing class sizes, improved overage thresholds that cover new classifications of educators, and a guarantee of 410 minutes of protected planning time for educators at every grade level.”