Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools will delay dismissal of students on August 21 so they can be safely dismissed after the solar eclipse.
Fulton County will only delay the dismissal of elementary school by 45 minutes. Fulton elementary schools are normally released at 2:20 p.m. Middle and high school bus riders will be inadvertently delayed because the elementary school delay will affect the bus schedule. Middle and high school walkers and drivers will not be affected.
Atlanta Public Schools will delay the dismissal of all elementary, middle and high school students by 30 minutes. APS schools will incorporate the eclipse into their lessons, and the school district has ordered 50,000 solar glasses so students can safely view the eclipse, according to a press release.
Although Atlanta will not experience a total eclipse, the darkest part of the eclipse is scheduled to occur during the dismissal process. The eclipse will peak around 2:30 p.m. and, depending on the area in metro Atlanta, the moon will block 95 to 98 percent of the sun, according to NASA data.
APS schools will be sharing their plans and experiences on social media using the hashtag #APSeclipse.