Reimagining Time – The School Calendar

1. Reimagining Time – The School Calendar New Rules: 2014-2015

2. A Synopsis of Changes #1 Discussion Item One – Legislative Revisions Discussion Item Two – Major Changes Add a second line of text here #2 Discussion Item Three – Making Up Lost Instructional Time #3 Discussion Item Four – Canceled Instructional Days #4 Discussion Item Five – Recovery of Lost Instructional Time #5 Discussion Item Six – Faculty Senate Meetings #6

3. Legislative Revisions 180 Days of Instruction School Calendar Statutes. • WVC 18-5-45, 18-5A-5 and 18A-5-2. • SB 359 • More Flexibility • Individualized by County • HB 3157 • Delayed implementation 2014-2015 school year

4. SB 359 Major Changes Public Hearings Instructional Term • MUST hold at least 2 public hearings each year before adoption of a school calendar for the upcoming school year. • MUST provide 180 separate days of instruction.

5. Major Changes • Length of Instructional Term • The beginning and closing days of the minimum 200-day employment term has been extended from 43 to 48 weeks.

6. Major Changes • Recovery of Lost Instructional Time • Must develop a policy that requires the recovery of all time lost due to late arrivals and early dismissals. • Outside of School Environment Days • MUST schedule 4 of the 6 OS days after the 130th instructional day.

7. Making Up Lost Instructional Time • Lost time due to school closures is not counted as meeting part of the 180 instructional day requirement. • The beginning and closing dates of the employment term may not exceed 48 weeks. • Any missed days due to school closings must be made up on a scheduled non-instructional day or an out-of-calendar day.

8. Cancelled Instructional Days County boards have the discretion to use a non-instructional day or an out-of-calendar day to make up canceled instructional days. County boards now have the ability to protect particular non-instructional days. If a county board does not have enough non-instructional days to make up all cancelled days out-of-calendar days must be used. When an out-of-calendar day is used as the make-up day the canceled instructional day becomes the out-of-calendar day and is an unpaid day.

9. Recovery of Lost Instructional Time Any instructional time lost due to late arrivals or early dismissals must be recovered by either adding additional minutes to the instructional day or by adding entire days to the calendar. Accrued instructional time can be used for the purpose of recovering this time. Each board is responsible for calculating their own accrued instructional time to ensure that all lost time is made up. Keep in mind any accrued time used for faculty senate meetings or professional development. Late arrivals and early dismissals must be considered when calculating accrued instructional time.

10. Faculty Senate Meetings Each board must provide each faculty senate with a 2 hour block of time for a day scheduled for the opening of school prior to the start of the instructional term. Four additional 2 hour blocks at least once every 45 days on a non-instructional day. The portion of the non-instructional day scheduled for the faculty senate meeting shall be considered as part of the purpose for which the non-instructional day is scheduled. 2 hours every 45 days.

11. Waiver Requests According to WVC §18-5-45(o), a county board may request and the State Board may grant a waiver to a county board for noncompliance with the provisions of chapter 18, 18A, 18B, or 18C of the Code of West Virginia to maintain compliance in reaching the mandatory 180 separate instructional days. 180

12. Issues and Problem Solving Professional Development, make-up days, late starts & early dismissals, faculty senate time, balanced calendars, adding days at the end of the calendar, attendance, meal counts