HB191 Summary

• Replaces the 182-day minimum school year requirement with hour-based minimums: 455 hours for half-day kindergarten, 910 hours for full-day kindergarten and grades 1-6, and 1,001 hours for grades 7-12.

• Allows up to the equivalent of two school days per year for parent-teacher conferences and two school days for professional teacher meetings, plus morning and afternoon recess periods of up to 15 minutes each for grades K-6.

• Requires school district boards to hold public hearings at least 30 days before adopting school calendars and prohibits reducing instructional hours below the previous year's total without board approval.

• Establishes coordination requirements between school districts, joint vocational schools, community schools, and chartered nonpublic schools regarding changes to school schedules and hours.

• Permits schools to use online lesson plans and "blizzard bags" (paper copies) to make up instructional time when schools close for disease epidemics, hazardous weather, or equipment failures.