Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 200 - Board of Education
Chapter 20 - Council on Elementary and Secondary Education
Subchapter 05 - General and School Operations
Part 1 - Regulations Governing the School Calendar and Length of the School Day
Section 200-RICR-20-05-1.14 - Required Elementary and Secondary Instructional Time

A. Local education agency compliance with the requirement to provide students with five and a half (51/2) hours (three hundred thirty (330) minutes) of actual instructional time per school day must indicate actual instruction in the subject areas required by the Basic Education Program (BEP) Subchapter 10 Part 1 of this Chapter, for provision of art and music programming in addition to instructional activities in basic academic disciplines of English language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, combined with instruction in art, music, foreign language (where applicable) or other related instructional activities including but not limited to library, health, physical education and student advisory.

B. The requirement of three hundred thirty (330) minutes of instructional time in each school day is effectively waived in those instances in which the superintendent of schools or director of a school relies upon § 1.11 of this Part herein to shorten the school day to no less than one hundred eighty (180) minutes in cases of inclement weather.

C. For purposes of determining the adequacy of instructional time, time dedicated to student advisory may be included in calculating the required instructional time. The Commissioner shall make such additional determinations as to the inclusion or exclusion of time within the category of instructional time based upon his/her review of each local education agency's submission of its elementary and secondary schedules.

D. A local education agency may establish a school year that is the equivalent of one hundred eighty (180) days through the use of longer school days in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-2-2. If longer school days are used to provide the equivalent of one hundred eighty (180) school days, a minimum of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours must be provided in a single school year, including no fewer than nine hundred and ninety (990) hours of actual instructional time. A detailed school day plan and proposed school calendar must be submitted to the Commissioner for approval in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-2-2(a)(2) no later than May 1st of the preceding school year.