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S1501......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
SCHOOLS - INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS - Amends existing law to increase the minimum
number of instructional hours for grades kindergarten through twelve.
02/17 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/18 Rpt prt - to Educ
03/03 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/04 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/06 3rd rdg - PASSED - 23-8-4
AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
Crow, Deide, Frasure, Geddes, Hansen, Ingram, Keough, King, Lee, Noh,
Parry, Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Sorensen, Twiggs
NAYS--Darrington, Hawkins, McLaughlin, Schroeder, Stennett, Sweeney,
Wheeler, Whitworth
Absent and excused--Danielson, Dunklin, Ipsen, Thorne
Floor Sponsor - Deide
Title apvd - to House
03/09 House intro - 1st rdg - to Educ
S1501|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1501 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS; AMENDING SECTION 33-512, IDAHO CODE, TO 3 INCREASE THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS FOR GRADES K THROUGH 4 TWELVE. 5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 SECTION 1. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 7 amended to read as follows: 8 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis- 9 trict shall have the following powers and duties: 10 1. To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools 11 shall be in session. However: 12 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal- 13 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following 14 minimum number of instructional hours: 15 Grades Hours 16 9-1299101 0 17 4-8 902 0 18 1-3 813 0 19 K 456 0 20 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi- 21 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc- 22 tional hours. 23 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour 24 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows: 25 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff 26 development activities. 27 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures 28 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures. 29 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes, 30 noninstructional recess and lunch periods shall not be included. 31 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of 32 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and 33 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as 34 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(1). 35 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e., 36 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of 37 instructions). 38 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be 39 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to 40 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time. 41 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption 42 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a 43 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circum- 2 1 stances, does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the dis- 2 trict. 3 2. To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu- 4 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary 5 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and 6 adults; and such districts may provide classes in kindergarten; 7 3. To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks 8 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook 9 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code; 10 4. To protect the morals and health of the pupils; 11 5. To exclude from school, children not of school age; 12 6. To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate 13 pupils, such rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the 14 board of trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing 15 at the beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the dis- 16 trict in a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of aca- 17 demic achievement; 18 7. To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases 19 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or 20 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious 21 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local 22 health authorities; 23 8. To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school or 24 schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts, 25 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature; 26 9. To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall 27 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen- 28 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section 29 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed 30 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may 31 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi- 32 days; 33 10. To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suitable 34 flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States of 35 America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in 36 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and 37 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering 38 and honoring American veterans; 39 11. To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro- 40 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the 41 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu- 42 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to 43 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A 44 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental 45 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils 46 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde- 47 meanor. 48 12. To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established 49 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of 50 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public 51 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a 52 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular 53 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa- 54 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege. 55 13. To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules 3 1 of the state board of education. 2 14. To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than 3 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of 4 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal 5 improving America's schools act of 1994. 6 15. To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district 7 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo 8 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such 9 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain 10 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for 11 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3) 12 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal 13 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history 14 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con- 15 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall 16 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of 17 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to 18 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having 19 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any 20 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for 21 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in 22 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history 23 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal 24 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. 25 16. Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for 26 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with 27 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 07636C1
The degree of learning a subject is directly proportional to
the time spent studying it. Assuming this fundamental premise
it is the purpose of this legislation to increase learning in
all of Idaho Public Schools by increasing the student/teacher
contact time by 20 hours for grades 1-12 and 10 hours for
kindergarten. This is a very modest increase in the minimal
number of instructional hours required. The increase can be
accommodated by an increase in the number of minutes in the
school day, or increase in the number of days in a school year
or some combination of both. These standards were established
in 1991 and were minimums. Since that date the minimums have
not changed but unfortunately there has been a tendency by
Idaho Public Schools to gravitate towards the minimum. This
modest increase will tend to curtail that trend and begin a
movement to a higher standard and more time for teachers to
teach students.
FISCAL NOTE
This proposed increase in the minimal number of instructional
hours required in a school year can be achieved without
additional school days added to the school year. Since these
requirements are minimal standards, many school districts
presently without additions meet the new requirements as well.
For others a small adjustment in the length of the school day
may be required. Therefore, there will not be any f iscal impact .
CONTACT: Senator Darrel Deide
332-1343
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE
S1501