DeKalb County School Closings Today — Live Status & Delays (Georgia)

Are DeKalb County schools closed today? Check live status below — updated every 10 minutes.

Live status monitored for DeKalb County School District, City Schools of Decatur, Atlanta Public Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools.

How DeKalb County School Closings Are Announced

DeKalb County School District (DCSD), the largest district covered on this page, posts closing and delay decisions to its official website at dekalbschoolsga.org and its Emergency Weather Plan page. The district’s goal is to reach a decision by 5:30 a.m. so families have time to plan before the morning commute. Once a decision is made, DCSD notifies enrolled families directly through SchoolMessenger email, text, and — depending on timing — an automated voice call, in addition to posting to the district website and its social media channels.

Beyond DCSD’s own channels, metro Atlanta’s local TV stations are typically the fastest secondary source for closing information covering the whole metro area, including DeKalb County: WSB-TV Channel 2 (ABC Atlanta), 11Alive WXIA (NBC Atlanta), and FOX 5 Atlanta each run a dedicated closings tracker that updates through the morning as new district decisions come in. City Schools of Decatur, Atlanta Public Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools follow a similar pattern — district website and app-based alerts first (Gwinnett uses ParentSquare), with local TV stations as a fast secondary check. This page automatically checks all of these sources together so you don’t have to visit each one separately.

Weather Risks That Trigger DeKalb County School Closings

• Winter ice and freezing rain: The single biggest trigger for closures in the district. Metro Atlanta has very little salt, sand, or de-icing equipment on hand, and DeKalb County’s many hills, bridges, and overpasses ice over quickly and stay dangerous long after accumulation looks minor.
• Severe thunderstorms: Spring and summer storms can bring damaging straight-line wind gusts, large hail, and frequent lightning, occasionally prompting an early dismissal if a storm arrives during the school day.
• Tornadoes: North and central Georgia sit within an active severe-weather corridor, and a tornado watch or warning during school hours can trigger shelter-in-place procedures or, in rare cases, a closure the following day for storm cleanup.
• Flash flooding: Heavy rain from slow-moving storm systems can flood low-lying roads and creek crossings across DeKalb County, affecting bus routes even when schools remain open.
• Extreme heat: Late-summer heat advisories can prompt outdoor-activity restrictions or, for schools without full air conditioning in older wings, early dismissal.
• Remnant tropical systems: DeKalb County is well inland, but the remnants of Gulf or Atlantic hurricanes can still bring heavy rain and gusty wind that occasionally affect the morning commute or after-school activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early does DeKalb County School District announce school closures?

DeKalb County School District aims to make a closing or delay decision by 5:30 a.m. so families have time to plan before the morning commute. Decisions are posted to the district website and pushed out through SchoolMessenger email, text, and — depending on timing — an automated voice call.

Does a DeKalb County closure mean a delay or a full closure?

DCSD distinguishes between a full closure, a delayed start, and an “asynchronous learning day,” where students complete independent work from home instead of attending in person. During recent winter storms, DCSD has used asynchronous learning days rather than simple closures, so it’s worth checking exactly which status the district has posted rather than assuming a full day off.

Do all DeKalb County-area schools close at the same time?

No. DCSD, City Schools of Decatur, Atlanta Public Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools each make their own independent decisions, so it’s common for one district to close or delay while a neighboring district stays on a normal schedule. This page checks all four districts separately so you can see exactly which ones are affected.

Which local TV stations report DeKalb County school closings?

WSB-TV Channel 2 (ABC Atlanta), 11Alive WXIA (NBC Atlanta), and FOX 5 Atlanta are the three stations most metro Atlanta families check first during active weather. All three maintain dedicated closings pages that this page monitors automatically alongside each district’s official site.

How often is this page updated?

Status checks run automatically every 15 minutes under normal conditions, and every 5 minutes during active weather alerts. A manual refresh button is also available if you want to check immediately rather than wait for the next automatic cycle.

Why does even a small amount of ice shut down DeKalb County schools?

Unlike northern school systems, metro Atlanta districts have very little salt, sand, or plow equipment on hand, and DeKalb County includes many hilly streets, bridges, and overpasses that ice over before road crews can treat them and stay dangerous long after the ice elsewhere has melted. Bus safety on these routes is the primary reason even light ice can trigger a closure or delay.

DeKalb County School District (DCSD) — School Roster

High Schools

• Arabia Mountain High School
• Avondale High School
• Briarcliff High School
• Cedar Grove High School
• Chamblee Charter High School
• Clarkston High School
• Columbia High School
• Cross Keys High School
• DeKalb School of the Arts
• Druid Hills High School
• Dunwoody High School
• Martin Luther King Jr. High School
• Lakeside High School
• Lithonia High School
• McNair High School
• Miller Grove High School
• Redan High School
• Southwest DeKalb High School
• Stephenson High School
• Stone Mountain High School
• Towers High School
• Tucker High School

Middle Schools

• Cedar Grove Middle School
• Chamblee Middle School
• Chapel Hill Middle School
• Columbia Middle School
• Druid Hills Middle School
• Freedom Middle School
• Henderson Middle School
• Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School
• McNair Middle School
• Miller Grove Middle School
• Lithonia Middle School
• Peachtree Middle School
• Redan Middle School
• Salem Middle School
• Sequoyah Middle School
• Stephenson Middle School
• Stone Mountain Middle School
• Tucker Middle School

Elementary Schools

DCSD operates 76 elementary schools/centers district-wide; the schools most frequently searched are listed below. See the full roster at dekalbschoolsga.org.

• Allgood Elementary
• Ashford Park Elementary
• Austin Elementary
• Avondale Elementary
• Barack H. Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology
• Bob Mathis Elementary
• Briar Vista Elementary
• Briarlake Elementary
• Brockett Elementary
• Browns Mill Elementary
• Canby Lane Elementary
• Cary Reynolds Elementary
• Cedar Grove Elementary
• Chapel Hill Elementary
• Chesnut Elementary
• Columbia Elementary
• Doraville United Elementary
• Dresden Elementary
• Dunaire Elementary
• Dunwoody Elementary
• E.L. Bouie Sr. Elementary
• E.L. Miller Elementary
• Evansdale Elementary/Magnet School of Math, Science & Language
• Fairington Elementary
• Fernbank Elementary
• Flat Rock Elementary
• Flat Shoals Elementary
• Hambrick Elementary
• Hawthorne Elementary
• Henderson Mill Elementary

City Schools of Decatur (CSD) — School Roster

High Schools

• Decatur High School

Middle Schools

• Beacon Hill Middle School

Elementary Schools

• Clairemont Elementary School
• Glennwood Elementary School
• Oakhurst Elementary School
• Westchester Elementary School
• Winnona Park Elementary School
• Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary School
• Talley Street Upper Elementary School

Atlanta Public Schools (APS) — Partial Roster

APS operates roughly 87 schools district-wide; the high schools most frequently searched are listed below. See the full roster at atlantapublicschools.us.

High Schools

• Midtown High School
• North Atlanta High School
• South Atlanta High School
• Frederick Douglass High School
• Booker T. Washington High School
• Benjamin E. Mays High School
• Carver Early College
• D.M. Therrell High School
• Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS)

GCPS is Georgia’s largest school system, with roughly 142 schools and 182,000 students. A school-by-school roster is not enumerated here — see the full roster at gcpsk12.org.