NC H164

Allows local school boards to adopt calendars with fewer than 185 instructional days, provided they maintain a minimum of 1,025 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months.

Permits variation in the number of instructional hours per day and between semesters, as long as total instructional hours remain equivalent between semesters.

Requires that teachers employed on 10-month terms at schools with fewer than 185 instructional days receive compensation equivalent to 185 days of instruction, with equivalent annual leave, sick leave, and longevity benefits as teachers employed for the same number of months.

Allows local boards with school calendars concluding the fall semester prior to December 31 to administer assessments and final exams before the semester ends, rather than during the final 10 instructional days of the school year.

Directs the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee to study school districts using calendar flexibility and report findings and recommendations to the 2016 General Assembly.