Days and Hours of Instruction - Questions and Answers

1. How are the hours of a school day computed?

A school day is determined from the start to the close of each student's daily instructional schedule. Evidence of the instructional schedule includes the school bell schedule and teachers' daily schedule of lessons or classes.

2. Should a school district schedule 180 or 175 days of instruction?

The schedule must include 180 days. Of these, five may be used for parent-teacher conferences or for inclement weather. It is recommended that the required number of school hours be scheduled within 175 days of instruction. In this way, missing instructional hours due to inclement weather and parent-teacher conferences will not need to be rescheduled.

3. If students are in attendance part of a school day and parent-teacher conferences are held the same day or evening, can this count as two days of school.

No. Evening parent-teacher conferences cannot be counted as an additional day of school when conferences are held on the evening of a day when students are in attendance during part or all of the regular school day.

4. The first bell for a particular school rings at 8:15 a.m. The next bell rings at 8:25 a.m., at which time all students are expected to be in the building and on their way to classes. The last bell rings at 8:30 a.m., and all students are required to be in a classroom. When does instructional time begin?

The instructional time is counted from 8:30 a.m.

5. What constitutes a school day?

Any day in which pupil instruction occurs is considered one of the 180 days. A school day that contains fewer instructional hours than a full schedule is considered a school day; however, only those hours in which instruction is provided may be counted toward meeting the required hours of instruction.

6. The last bell prior to the lunch period rings five minutes prior to the time the students are eating lunch. Because passing time between classes can count, can the five minutes prior to the beginning of the lunch period be counted as passing time?

Yes.

7. Can the lunch break be considered recess?

Time for lunch cannot be added into the total number of hours of instruction. Time scheduled in addition to lunch may count as recess time if all students participate in the activity. If the period of time scheduled is only for the students to take a mid-day meal, it may not be added to the total. The maximum time counted as recess is 30 minutes per day.

8. Some schools have a staggered starting and ending schedule for the students. Is this permissible under the new law?

Yes, as long as each student's instructional schedule meets the required time.

9. Some students are dismissed two periods prior to the end of the school day to participate in practice for sports or other activities. Can this time be included in their instructional schedule?

Because sports or other extracurricular activities are not considered a part of the instructional day, these students would not be provided the mandated time allocation. The rule states that the time is computed from the beginning to the end of each pupil's instructional day; therefore, these students would not meet the mandated time allocation.

10. Does teacher inservice count for one of the five days?

No, only inclement weather (snow days) or parent-teacher conferences may be used to reduce the 180 days.

11. In some districts, students in lower grade levels may be picked up ten minutes earlier than the usual dismissal time so that they can be moved to another location for transportation purposes. Would these ten minutes count as instructional time in meeting the standard?

No, this situation does not meet the requirements of the standard.

For questions about this information, contact Beverly J. Kniess (608) 266-3706

Last updated on 2/27/2008 10:06:03 AM