SCHOOL CALENDAR

NEW LEGISLATION

185 Day Calendar Waiver - LEAs and Charter Schools

2012-13 Calendar Waiver Request Form
(pdf, 19kb)
2012-13 185 Day Waiver Requests Status
(xls, 64kb) UPDATED 5/10/12

LEGISLATION SUMMARY FOR LEAS

2011 House Bill 200 (Session Law 2011-145), effective July 1, 2011, rewrites a portion of the calendar law (General Statute 115C-84.2). Legislation: Session Law 2011-145, House Bill 200, Section 7.29, Increase Number of Instructional Days

What stays the same with school calendars:

Start and End dates of August 25 and June 10 (unless waiver has been approved, year-round school or Charter School).
School Calendar shall consist of 215 days, all of which shall fall within the same fiscal year.
Covers at least nine calendar months.
Have a minimum of 10 annual vacation leave days.
Have the same or an equivalent number of legal holidays occurring within the school calendar as those designated by the State Personnel Commission for State employees.
School shall not be held on Sunday.
Veterans Day shall be a holiday for all public school personnel and for all students enrolled in the public schools.

What has changed with school calendars:

Must have a minimum of 185 days and 1,025 hours of instruction.
Ten teacher workdays (eliminated the five protected teacher workdays).
Local Boards shall designate two (2) workdays on which teachers may take accumulated vacation leave. Local Boards may designate the remaining workdays as days teachers may take accumulated vacation leave.
Charter schools must provide instruction for at least 185 days.
If the State Board of Education finds that it will enhance student performance to do so, the State Board may grant a local board of education for an LEA or Charter School a waiver to use up to five of the instructional days as teacher workdays. For each instructional day waived, the State Board shall waive an equivalent number of instructional hours.

The process for requesting waivers of the 185 instructional days for 2012-13 school year is located within the School Attendance and Student Accounting manual under the School Calendar section.

CALENDAR RESOURCES FOR LEAS

Make-up Days FAQ
(pdf, 15kb) UPDATED 7/11/11
LEAs with Calendar Waivers 2012-13
(pdf, 18kb) UPDATED 10/11/11
LEAs with Calendar Waivers 2011-12
(pdf, 17kb) UPDATED 7/11/11
History - LEAs eligible for a Calendar Waiver
(pdf, 228kb) UPDATED 3/23/12
Use of Workdays Table
(pdf, 31kb) UPDATED 7/20/11
Attorney General's Ruling on School Calendar
(pdf, 78kb)
School Calendar Bill: Summary of Provisions and Waiver Request Process
(pdf, 30kb)
History of the School Calendar
(pdf, 58kb) POSTED 7/11/11

CALENDAR TYPES

Traditional: A school has one track in operation for at least 180 days, with a long summer break (approximately 10 weeks.)
Year Round: A school that remains in session for the entire calendar year. (School calendar covers at least 11 months)
Modified Year Round: A school has only one track in operation for at least 180 days, with longer Fall & Spring breaks (approximately 2 weeks each) and a short Summer break (approximately 6-7 weeks.)
Note: At this time, a school may not open with or convert to a modified calendar. Pre-existing modified calendar schools from 2003-04 are exempt. Legislation states that the "the required opening and closing dates shall not apply to any school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-04 school year or to any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003-04 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar."
Traditional and Year Round Combination: A school that offers two or more calendar types.

Note: LEAs and charter schools are responsible for entering a calendar type for each school in EDDIE.