INSTRUCTION
House Bill 4337
Sponsor: Rep. Patricia Birkholz
Committee: Education
Complete to 2-26-99
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4337 AS INTRODUCED 2-25-99
House Bill 4337 would amend the State School Aid Act of 1979 to waive the minimum days of instruction for the current school year, if the days lost were due to severe storms. Specifically, the bill would require that for 1998-99 only, up to eight additional scheduled school days on which pupil instruction was not provided because of severe storms would be counted as days of pupil instruction. Further, the bill would delete two out-dated provisions that address special cases in which the minimum number of days, or hours, of pupil instruction were waived during the 1997-98 school year.
Under the Revised School Code (MCL 380.12.84), public schools are required to offer a certain number of days and hours of pupil instruction in order to be eligible for state aid. For many years, the minimum number of school days in Michigan was 180. However, over a ten year period that began in the fall of 1997 and will end in the fall of 2006, the minimum number of school days will increase to 190, as one day is added each year. (The number of instructional hours also increases over the ten years, from 900 to 1,140.)
Under the State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1701), a two-day grace period is provided. Under the law, the first two days for which pupil instruction is not provided because of conditions not within the control of school authorities, such as severe storms, fires, epidemic, or health considerations, are counted as days of pupil instruction. However, subsequent days that school is closed because of these conditions are not counted. In such instances, the school year is extended in order that school aid not be reduced.
MCL 388.1701
Analyst: J. Hunault