HB396 Summary

• Amends Alabama Code Section 16-13-231 to replace the 180 instructional day requirement with 1050 instructional hours beginning with the 2018-2019 school year and each year thereafter.

• Requires the first day of student instruction to be no earlier than the Monday two weeks before Labor Day, with an exception if August 31 falls on a Monday (then instruction begins Monday, August 17).

• Mandates that teacher salaries remain at existing levels and prohibits local boards from reducing employee compensation or salary schedule amounts based on calendar modifications.

• Provides flexibility for local boards to extend hours of actual teaching time on specified instructional days to meet the 1050-hour minimum requirement.

• Allows school systems closed due to natural occurrences, health-related issues, or gubernatorial emergency declarations to appeal to the State Superintendent of Education for relief in meeting calendar requirements with no loss of employee income.