The Legislature establishes the minimum instructional program of basic education that must be offered by school districts, which includes the requirement that the basic education program be accessible to all students who are at least five years of age and less than 21 years of age for a minimum of 180 days per school year.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), in accordance with criteria established by the State Board of Education, may grant three-year renewable waivers from the 180-day school year requirement to school districts that propose to operate one or more schools on a flexible calendar for purposes of economy and efficiency. OSPI is limited to issuing these economy and efficiency waivers to ten school districts, and eligible districts must have fewer than 500 students. Of the waivers that may be issued, two must be reserved for school districts with fewer than 150 students.
A school district seeking a waiver from the 180-day school year requirement for purposes of economy and efficiency must submit an application to OSPI that meets certain content requirements, including:
OSPI may issue economy and efficiency waivers to 30 or fewer school districts. School districts with fewer than 1000 students are eligible for such waivers, rather than school districts with fewer than 500 students. The limitation that two economy and efficiency waivers be reserved for districts with student populations of less than 150 students is eliminated.
School districts must include the following additional information in the waiver application when explaining the impact on employees in education support positions: expected position and work hour reductions, reductions in force, and the loss of work benefits or eligibility for work benefits.
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: This is an expansion of a program that has shown success. There are a certain number of classroom hours, so it doesn't matter how many days it takes to achieve those hours. For example, during hunting season some students don't attend class. It would be beneficial to allow flexibility so they can make up the hours elsewhere. The ten slots currently allowed have already been filled and all districts have had success. This is a strong teacher recruitment incentive and allows more time for professional development.
OTHER: Making more districts eligible for a 4-day work week would put staff at risk of layoffs and ineligibility for health insurance, usually those staff in nutrition services and bus drivers. Not all districts are negatively impacted, but some are. An amendment to limit the waivers would be supported.