Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a)
Purpose. The provisions of this section are intended to provide school
districts and boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) with
flexibility in meeting the 180-day requirement in order to receive State aid
pursuant to sections
1704(2) and
3604(7) of the Education
Law for actual instructional time provided to students. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to preclude school districts and BOCES from lengthening the
school day and/or school year beyond the annual minimum instructional
requirement for both instructional and non-instructional activities, including
but not limited to, homeroom periods, lunch, recess, staff development
activities, parent-teacher conferences, or any other purpose the school
district or BOCES has determined is necessary for the development of the whole
child and/or to improve student achievement.
(b) Definitions.
(1) "Instructional hours'' shall mean an hour
or a fraction of an hour, during which students are receiving instruction from
a certified teacher pursuant to Part 80 of this Title in an academic subject
and/or periods of time during which students are engaged in supervised study
activities, including completing homework and/or the review of homework.
Instructional hours shall not include periods of time where instruction and/or
supervised study time is not provided to students, such as lunch or
recess.
(2) "Session day'' shall
mean a day when school is held and instruction is provided to students. This
may be any day, excluding Saturdays and legal holidays pursuant to Education
Law § 3604(8), from the first day in which attendance may be required
pursuant to Education Law § 3205(1)(c) until the end of the school year,
plus superintendents' conference days.
(c) Annual Hourly Requirement. Commencing
with the 2018-20 19 school year, for the purpose of apportionment of State aid,
any school district or BOCES must be in session for at least 180 school days,
and during such 180 days the school district and BOCES must meet the following
minimum annual instructional requirement:
(1)
For pupils in half-day kindergarten, a minimum of 450 instructional
hours.
(2) For pupils in full-day
kindergarten and grades one through six, a minimum of 900 instructional
hours.
(3) For pupils in grades
seven through twelve, a minimum of 99 0 instructional
hours.
(d) School
calendar development. To ensure that school districts and BOCES meet the annual
instructional requirement in order to receive State aid, it is recommended that
school districts and BOCES establish school year calendars that exceed the
minimum requirements as provided herein by at least the average number of
emergency days that such district or BOCES has taken over the previous five
school years.
(e) Emergency
conditions.
(1) Remote instruction due to
emergency conditions. If a school district would otherwise close due to an
emergency, including but not limited to, extraordinary adverse weather
conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply,
shortage of fuel, destruction of a school building, or a communicable disease
outbreak, the school district may remain in session and provide remote
instruction, as defined in section
100.1(u)
of this Chapter, and beginning with the 2023-2024 school year such remote
instruction shall be consistent with such school district's emergency remote
instruction plan pursuant to section
155.17(c)(1)(xxi)
of this Chapter. Instruction provided on these session days may be counted
towards the annual hour requirement set forth in subdivision (c) of this
section. The superintendent shall certify to the Department, on a form
prescribed by the Commissioner, that an emergency condition existed on a
previously scheduled session day and that such school district was in session
and provided remote instruction on that day and indicate how many instructional
hours were provided on such session day and, beginning with the 2023-2024
school year, certify that remote instruction was provided in accordance with
the district's emergency remote instruction plan.
(2) Unscheduled school delays and early
releases. Instructional hours that a school district scheduled but did not
execute, either because of a delay to the start of a school day or an early
release, due to extraordinarily adverse weather conditions, impairment of
heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel,
destruction of a school building, or such other cause as may be found
satisfactory by the Commissioner, may still be considered as instructional
hours for State aid purposes for up to two instructional hours per session day,
provided, however, that the superintendent shall certify to the Department, on
a form prescribed by the Commissioner, that an extraordinary condition existed
on a previously scheduled session day and that school was in session on that
day.
(f) Double or
overlapping sessions. The provisions of subdivision (c) of this section shall
not apply to schools which operate on double or overlapping sessions, provided
the written approval of the commissioner to operate such sessions has been
obtained prior to the scheduling of such sessions for any school
year.
(g) The provisions of
subdivision (c) of this section shall not apply where the prior written
approval of the commissioner has been obtained to conduct, in a given school
year, an experimental or alternative program involving daily sessions
consisting of fewer hours than would otherwise be required by the provisions of
subdivision (c) of his section.
(h)
Use of superintendents' conferences.
(1)
Superintendents' conferences to provide staff development activities that are
related to implementation of the new high learning standards and assessments,
general staff orientation, curriculum development, or in service education may
be credited toward the annual instructional requirement set forth in
subdivision (c) of this section as follows:
(i) 10 hours for half-day
kindergarten;
(ii) 20 hours for
full-day kindergarten and grades one through six, and
(iii) 22 hours for grades seven through
twelve. Provided, however, that (A) two and one-half hours for half- day
kindergarten, (B) five hours for full-day kindergarten and grades one through
six, or (C) five and one-half hours for grades seven through twelve shall be
considered one superintendents' conference day authorized pursuant to section
3604(8) of the Education
Law, and provided that such conferences occur on days when the regular day
schools of the school district may legally be in session, and provided further
that such conference days may not be scheduled for routine school
administrative matters such as the grading of assignments, the preparation of
pupil assignments, record-keeping, or the preparation of lesson plans. Such
superintendents' conferences, in hours totaling two superintendent conference
days authorized pursuant to section
3604(8) of the Education
Law, may be held, if the school district so elects, in the last two weeks of
August, subject to collective bargaining requirements pursuant to article
fourteen of the civil service law.
(i) Regents examinations and other
assessments.
(1) Regents examinations. For
only the grade levels sitting for a Regents examination, a district may
schedule the average number of instructional hours it provides on
non-examination days for days on which Regents examinations or Rating Day are
held, and have such hours count toward the annual minimum hourly requirement.
On such days, attendance need not be taken, and attendance may not be assumed
and claimed for State Aid purposes under any circumstances. If grades seven
through twelve are housed in the same building, school district officials may
excuse the students from any grade level for which an examination is not being
offered if their class schedules are disrupted by the Regents examination
schedule and if staff are needed to properly administer such
examinations.
(2) New York State
Assessments. Session days during which New York State Assessments, including
but not limited to the Grades 3-8 English language arts and mathematics
assessments, are administered are days on which attendance must be taken and
which instructional hours count toward the annual minimum hourly
requirement.
(3) Other state
assessments. On session days during which alternative and/or pathway
assessments, as defined in section
100.2(f) and
(mm) of this Title, are administered,
attendance must be taken an d only actual instructional hours for pupils in
attendance, including the examination time, may be included within the
instructional hour requirement. Grade levels that are excused from instruction
on those days may not have hours count toward the requirement.
(4) Other examinations and assessments. Time
spent on session days where other assessments are administered may count toward
the annual minimum instructional hour requirement provided such assessments are
administered by a certified teacher, attendance is taken, and students not
sitting for such assessments receive instruction during such time. Grade levels
that are excused from instruction on such days may not have this time count
toward the requirement.
(j) Short session aid deduction. For the
purposes of reducing State Aid pursuant to section
3604(7) of the Education
Law, one day shall mean:
(1) For pupils in
half-day kindergarten, two and one-half hours.
(2) For pupils in full-day kindergarten and
grades one through six, five hours.
(3) For pupils in grades seven through
twelve, five and one-half hours. In the event that a school district or BOCES
has a total deficiency in hours that equals a fraction of hours per day
pursuant to this paragraph, such deficiency shall be rounded up to the next
whole day.
(k) All claims
submitted by school districts in accordance with section
175.10
of this Part for the payment of State aid for the 2019-2020 school year and
thereafter shall include the total number of instructional hours,
non-instructional hours, and session days for each grade level in each school
within the school district, and a completed calendar worksheet in a format
prescribed by the commissioner for each such school within the school
district.
(l)
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section to the contrary, certain school districts that have demonstrated a
safety issue and/or other scheduling challenges that prevented them from
complying with the annual instructional hour requirement set forth in
subdivision (c) of this section in the 2018-2019 school year may apply to the
Commissioner by November 15, 2019 for a single waiver for up to four school
years from such requirement for the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and/or
2021- 2022 school years; provided that such school district meets the following
requirements:
(i) the school district must be
in session for at least 180 school days in each school year, which shall
include superintendent's conference days authorized under this
section;
(ii) the school district
must attest that the annual instructional hours for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020
school years will be at least equal to the annual instructional hours provided
in the 2017-2018 school year and that for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school
years the school district will demonstrate that the total number of its schools
that are in compliance with the instructional hour requirements will increase
annually by increments of no less than one-third, resulting in full compliance
in the 2022-2023 school year;
(iii)
the school district must describe the safety and/or scheduling challenges that
prevented the school district from complying with such requirements;
and
(iv) the school district must
provide a plan to the Commissioner as to how it will comply with the
instructional hour requirement in the 2022- 2023 school year for all schools in
the district.
(2) The
Commissioner will post a list of school districts with approved waivers for the
2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and /or 2021- 2022 school years on the
Department's website.
(m)
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of
this section to the contrary, certain school districts that have demonstrated a
safety issue and/or other scheduling challenges that prevented them from
complying with the annual instructional hour requirement set forth in
subdivision (c) of this section in the 2018-2019 school year may apply to the
commissioner by November 15, 2019 for a single waiver for up to four school
years from such requirement for the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and/or
2021-2022 school years; provided that such school district meets the following
requirements:
(i) the school district must
be in session for at least 180 school days in each school year, which shall
include superintendent's conference days authorized under this
section;
(ii) the school district
must attest that the annual instructional hours for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020
school years will be at least equal to the annual instructional hours provided
in the 2017-2018 school year and that for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school
years the school district will demonstrate that the total number of its schools
that are in compliance with the instructional hour requirements will increase
annually by increments of no less than one-third, resulting in full compliance
in the 2022-2023 school year;
(iii)
the school district must describe the safety and/or scheduling challenges that
prevented the school district from complying with such requirements;
and
(iv) the school district must
provide a plan to the commissioner as to how it will comply with the
instructional hour requirement in the 2022-2023 school year for all schools in
the district.
(2) The
commissioner will post a list of school districts with approved waivers for the
2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and/or 2021-2022 school years on the
department's website.
(n)
COVID-19 Executive Order(s) and Waivers.
(1)
Any day that a school is closed in the 2019-20 school year and the 180-day
requirement set forth in subdivision (c) of this section is waived pursuant to
an Executive Order(s) of the Governor pursuant to the State of emergency for
the COVID-19 crisis or pursuant to Education Law § 3604(7), as amended by
Chapter 107 of the Laws of 2020, will satisfy the requirements for a waiver of
the usually required reduction in monies payable to school districts under
Education Law § 3604 in accordance with the terms of such Executive
Order(s).
(2) For the 2019-20,
2020-21, and 2021-22 school years, notwithstanding any other provision of this
section to the contrary, any school district may be eligible for a waiver from
the annual instructional hour requirement set forth in subdivision (c) of this
section if the district is unable to meet such requirement as a result of an
Executive Order(s) of the Governor pursuant to the state of emergency declared
for the COVID-19 crisis, pursuant to Education Law § 3604(7), as amended
by Chapter 107 of the Laws of 2020, or reopening procedures implemented as a
result of the COVID-19 crisis, provided that such district meets the
requirements outlined in subparagraphs (i) and (iii) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (m) of this section.
(3) For the 2022-23 school year,
notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any school district may be
eligible for a waiver from the short session deduction set forth in subdivision
(j) of this section if the district is unable to meet the annual instructional
hour requirement set forth in subdivision (c) of this section as a result of
the COVID-19 crisis, provided that:
(i) the
school district must be in session for at least 180 days in each school year,
which shall include superintendents' conference days authorized under this
section; and
(ii) the
superintendent shall certify to the Department, on a form prescribed by the
Commissioner, the specific cause of the district's inability to meet such
requirement and an explanation as to why the district was unable to make up the
required hours.