§ 6-17-114 - Daily planning period. - Arkansas Statutes

6-17-114. Daily planning period.

(a) (1) Effective beginning the 2003-2004 school year, each school district in this state shall provide a minimum of two hundred (200) minutes each week for each teacher to schedule time for conferences, instructional planning, and preparation for all classroom teachers employed by the school district.

(2) (A) The planning time shall be in increments of no less than forty (40) minutes during the student instructional day unless a teacher submits a written request to be allowed to have his or her planning time scheduled at some time other than during the student instructional day.

(B) A teacher who does not receive the planning time required under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section during the student instructional day shall be compensated at his or her hourly rate of pay for each missed planning period except for planning periods missed because of occasional, not-regularly-scheduled field trips, fire drills, or bomb scares.

(C) A school district shall be exempt from the provisions of this subdivision (a)(2) if it has collectively negotiated a contract through a local teachers' association and the collectively negotiated contract expressly provides for a teacher's daily planning period.

(b) (1) No school district shall provide planning time as required by this section by lengthening the school day unless the school district compensates teachers for the additional time at an hourly per diem rate.

(2) Any teacher not receiving individual planning time as provided for in this section shall be compensated for the planning time lost at his or her hourly rate of pay.

(c) Each school district shall implement the requirements of this section in accordance with 6-17-201 et seq.

(d) As used in this section, "student instructional day" means the time that students are required to be present at school.