158.070 School term -- Professional development -- Suicide prevention -- Holidays and days closed -- Continuing education for certain students -- Breakfast program -- Scheduling of athletic competitio - Kentucky Statutes

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158.070 School term -- Professional development -- Suicide prevention -- Holidays and days closed -- Continuing education for certain students -- Breakfast
program -- Scheduling of athletic competitions -- Missed school days due to
emergencies and service credit. (1) The minimum school term shall be one hundred eighty-five (185) days, including no less than the equivalent of one hundred seventy-five (175) six (6) hour
instructional days. A board of education may extend its term beyond the minimum
term. (2) The local board of education, upon recommendation of the local school district superintendent, shall adopt a school calendar for the upcoming school year that
establishes the opening and closing dates of the school term, beginning and ending
dates of each school month, instructional days, and days on which schools shall be
dismissed. The local board may schedule days for breaks in the school calendar that
shall not be counted as a part of the minimum school term. (3) Any local board of education operating its schools on a year-round school program basis shall conform with administrative regulations promulgated and adopted by the
Kentucky Board of Education upon the recommendation of the commissioner of
education, which regulations must be in conformity with the following criteria:
(a) The year-round school program shall be operated on a fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30; (b) A pupil's required attendance in school shall be for at least the minimum instructional term; and (c) No teacher shall be required to teach more than the minimum term during the school year. (4) (a) Each local board of education shall use four (4) days of the minimum school term for professional development and collegial planning activities for the
professional staff without the presence of pupils pursuant to the requirements
of KRS 156.095. At the discretion of the superintendent, one (1) day of
professional development may be used for district-wide activities and for
training that is mandated by federal or state law. The use of three (3) days
shall be planned by each school council, except that the district is encouraged
to provide technical assistance and leadership to school councils to maximize
existing resources and to encourage shared planning. (b) In addition to the four (4) days required under paragraph (a) of this subsection, a minimum of two (2) hours of self-study review of suicide prevention
materials shall be required for all high school and middle school principals,
guidance counselors, and teachers each school year. (c) A local board may approve a school's flexible professional development plan that permits teachers or other certified personnel within a school to participate
in professional development activities outside the days scheduled in the school
calendar or the regularly scheduled hours in the school work day and receive
credit towards the four (4) day professional development requirement within the minimum one hundred eighty-five (185) days that a teacher shall be
employed.
1. A flexible schedule option shall be reflected in the school's professional
development component within the school improvement plan or
consolidated plan and approved by the local board. Credit for approved
professional development activities may be accumulated in periods of
time other than full day segments. 2. No teacher or administrator shall be permitted to count participation in a
professional development activity under the flexible schedule option
unless the activity is related to the teacher's classroom assignment and
content area, or the administrator's job requirements, or is required by
the school improvement or consolidated plan, or is tied to the teacher's
or the administrator's individual growth plan. The supervisor shall give
prior approval and shall monitor compliance with the requirements of
this paragraph. In the case of teachers, a professional development
committee or the school council by council policy may be responsible
for reviewing requests for approval. (d) The local board of each school district may use up to a maximum of four (4) days of the minimum school term for holidays; provided, however, any
holiday which occurs on Saturday may be observed on the preceding Friday. (e) Each local board may use two (2) days for planning activities without the presence of pupils. (f) Each local board may use the number of days deemed necessary for: 1. National or state disaster or mourning when proclaimed by the President
of the United States or the Governor of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky; 2. Local disaster which would endanger the health or safety of children;
and 3. Mourning when so designated by the local board of education and
approved by the Kentucky Board of Education upon recommendation of
the commissioner of education. (5) The Kentucky Board of Education, upon recommendation of the commissioner of education, shall adopt administrative regulations governing the use of school days,
including days missed from the regular school day as a result of local disaster, as
defined in subsection (4)(f)2. of this section, and regulations setting forth the
guidelines and procedures to be observed for the approval of the days utilized for
the opening and closing of school and the days utilized for professional
development and planning activities for the professional staff. (6) (a) In setting the school calendar, school may be closed for two (2) consecutive days for the purpose of permitting professional school employees to attend
statewide professional meetings. These two (2) days for statewide professional
meetings may be scheduled to begin with the first Thursday after Easter, or
upon request of the statewide professional education association having the largest paid membership, the commissioner of education may designate
alternate dates. If schools are scheduled to operate during days designated for
the statewide professional meeting, the school district shall permit teachers
who are delegates to attend as compensated professional leave time and shall
employ substitute teachers in their absence. The commissioner of education
shall designate one (1) additional day during the school year when schools
shall be closed to permit professional school employees to participate in
regional or district professional meetings. These three (3) days so designated
for attendance at professional meetings shall not be counted as a part of the
minimum school term. School shall be closed on the day of a regular election
and on the day of a primary election, and those days may be used for
professional development activities, professional meetings, or parent-teacher
conferences. (b) All schools shall be closed on the third Monday of January in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Districts may:
1. Designate the day as one (1) of the four (4) holidays permitted under
subsection (4)(d) of this section; or 2. Not include the day in the minimum school term specified in subsection
(1) of this section. (7) (a) The Kentucky Board of Education, or the organization or agency designated by the board to manage interscholastic athletics, shall be encouraged to
schedule athletic competitions outside the regularly scheduled school day. (b) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, any member of a school-sponsored interscholastic athletic team who competes in a regional
tournament or state tournament sanctioned by the Kentucky Board of
Education, or the organization or agency designated by the board to manage
interscholastic athletics, and occurring on a regularly scheduled school day
may be counted present at school on the date or dates of the competition, as
determined by local board policy, for a maximum of two (2) days per student
per year. The student shall be expected to complete any assignments missed
on the date or dates of the competition. (c) The school attendance record of any student for whom paragraph (b) of this subsection applies shall indicate that the student was in attendance on the date
or dates of competition. (8) Students applying for excused absence for attendance at the Kentucky State Fair shall be granted one (1) day of excused absence. (9) Schools shall provide continuing education for those students who are determined to need additional time to achieve the outcomes defined in KRS 158.6451, and
schools shall not be limited to the minimum school term in providing this
education. Continuing education time may include extended days, extended weeks,
or extended years. A local board of education may adopt a policy requiring its
students to participate in continuing education. The local policy shall set out the
conditions under which attendance will be required and any exceptions which are
provided. The Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing criteria for the allotment of grants to local school districts
and shall include criteria by which the commissioner of education may approve a
district's request for a waiver to use an alternative service delivery option, including
providing services during the school day on a limited basis. These grants shall be
allotted to school districts to provide instructional programs for pupils who are
identified as needing additional time to achieve the outcomes defined in KRS
158.6451. A school district that has a school operating a model early reading
program under KRS 158.792 may use a portion of its grant money as part of the
matching funds to provide individualized or small group reading instruction to
qualified students outside of the regular classroom during the school day. (10) Notwithstanding any other statute, each school term shall include no less than the equivalent of the minimum number of instructional days required by this section. (11) Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 158.060(3) and the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, a school district shall arrange bus schedules so that all buses
arrive in sufficient time to provide breakfast prior to the instructional day. In the
event of an unforeseen bus delay, the administrator of a school that participates in
the Federal School Breakfast Program may authorize up to fifteen (15) minutes of
the six (6) hour instructional day if necessary to provide the opportunity for children
to eat breakfast not to exceed eight (8) times during the school year within a school
building. (12) Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, the following provisions shall apply to a school district that misses school days due to emergencies, including
weather-related emergencies:
(a) A certified school employee shall be considered to have fulfilled the minimum one hundred eighty-five (185) day contract with a school district under KRS
157.350 and shall be given credit for the purpose of calculating service credit
for retirement under KRS 161.500 for certified school personnel if:
1. State and local requirements under this section are met regarding the
equivalent of the number and length of instructional days, professional
development days, holidays, and days for planning activities without the
presence of pupils; and 2. The provisions of the district's school calendar to make up school days
missed due to any emergency, as approved by the Kentucky Department
of Education, including but not limited to a provision for additional
instructional time per day, are met. (b) Additional time worked by a classified school employee shall be considered as equivalent time to be applied toward the employee's contract and calculation
of service credit for classified employees under KRS 78.615 if:
1. The employee works for a school district with a school calendar
approved by the Kentucky Department of Education that contains a
provision that additional instructional time per day shall be used to make
up full days missed due to an emergency; 2. The employee's contract requires a minimum six (6) hour work day; and 3. The employee's job responsibilities and work day are extended when the
instructional time is extended for the purposes of making up time. (c) Classified employees who are regularly scheduled to work less than six (6) hours per day and who do not have additional work responsibilities as a result
of lengthened instructional days shall be excluded from the provisions of this
subsection. These employees may be assigned additional work responsibilities
to make up service credit under KRS 78.615 that would be lost due to
lengthened instructional days. Effective: July 15, 2010
History: Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 136, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2010; and ch. 146, sec. 1, effective April 13, 2010. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 178, sec. 1, effective
June 20, 2005. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 1, effective April 6, 2004. --
Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 131, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002; and ch. 169, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 2001 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 1, effective June 21,
2001. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 261, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000; and
ch. 527, sec. 13, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 580, sec. 4,
effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 609, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended
1996 Ky. Acts ch. 20, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1996; ch. 195, sec. 25, effective July
15, 1996; and ch. 362, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts
ch. 394, sec. 22, effective July 15, 1994; and ch. 464, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1994.