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2004 SESSION

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SB 452 School term; provisions due to severe weather conditions or other emergency situation.

Introduced by: Mary Margaret Whipple | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

School closings; makeup days. Clarifies the circumstances in which state basic aid funding will be reduced because of school closings due to severe weather conditions or other emergency situations. The bill defines "severe weather conditions or other emergency situations" as "those circumstances presenting a threat to the health or safety of students that result from severe weather conditions or other emergencies, including, but not limited to, natural and man-made disasters, energy shortages or power failures." The bill states that the length of every school's term in every school division must be 180 teaching days or 990 teaching hours and, if the length of the term is reduced, the amount paid by the Commonwealth will be proportionally reduced. However, a schedule of makeup days that will avoid reduction in funding is set out, i.e., for five or fewer missed days, makeup days according to Board regulations cannot exceed the days missed; for five missed days, but no more than 15 missed days, five makeup days plus one day for every two days in excess of the initial five, but no more than nine makeup days; for more than 15 days, at least 10 makeup days. School divisions are authorized to make up the missed teaching days by providing the students with instructional hours equivalent to the missed days. In addition, the Board of Education may waive the requirement that school divisions provide additional teaching days or teaching hours to compensate for school closings resulting from a declared state of emergency. If the Board grants the waiver, no proportionate reduction in state funds will be made. The Board's regulations for this law may authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to approve reductions in school terms without reductions in funding. The Board is authorized, in a second enactment clause, to promulgate emergency regulations. Technical amendments are included to improve readability, and an emergency clause makes the measure effective upon passage. With the exception of the emergency clause, the measure is identical to HB 1256.


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