COMMON SCHOOL CALENDAR

THROUGHOUT INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Senate Bill 549 as passed the Senate

Sponsor:  Sen. Ron Jelinek

House Committee:  Education

Senate Committee:  Education

Complete to 7-23-07

A SUMMARY OF SENATE BILL 549 AS PASSED BY THE SENATE 6-27-07

 

The bill would amend the Revised School Code, generally speaking, to require an intermediate school district (ISD), in cooperation with its constituent districts, to adopt a common calendar by July 1, 2008, and begin using it during the 2008-2009 school year.  The ISD would have to post the common school calendar on its website.  An ISD's common calendar would apply to all of its constituent districts and to ISD programs (with some exceptions as described later).

The calendar would have to comply with Sections 1284 and 1284b of the code. Section 1284 requires the board of a school district or public school academy (charter school) to ensure that the district or academy provide at least the minimum amount of pupil instruction during each school year required under the State School Aid Act (currently 1,098 hours) in order to qualify for school aid payments. Section 1284b requires the board of a school district, ISD, or academy to ensure that the school year does not begin before Labor Day.

Identification of Out-of-Session Days.  The common school calendar would have to identify the dates for each school year when school would not be in session for at least a winter holiday break, a spring break, and professional development days. The calendar would have to identify these dates specifically for at least the next five school years, but could describe them more generally for subsequent school years as long as the dates could be readily determined.

Collective Bargaining Agreement Exception.  Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the board of each constituent district and the ISD board would have to ensure that its school calendar complied with the common school calendar. However, if a collective bargaining agreement that provided a complete school calendar is in effect for employees of a school district or ISD on the bill's effective date, and if that calendar does not comply with the common school calendar, then that school district or ISD would not have to comply until the collective bargaining agreement expires.

Year Round School and IB Exceptions.  If, on the bill's effective date, an ISD or a school district is operating a year-round school or program or is operating an international baccalaureate academy with 1,160 hours of pupil instruction per school year, then that school or program would not have to comply with the common school calendar.

If a school district or ISD begins operating a year-round school or program after the bill's effective date, or is operating or begins operating on a trimester basis, the district could apply for a waiver from the bill's requirements for that school or program. The application would have to be in writing in the form and manner prescribed by the Department of Education, and would have to provide justification for the school or program to operate on a calendar that differed from the common calendar.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction would grant the waiver upon determining that the school or program is a bona fide year-round school or program, or is operating on a bona fide trimester schedule, established for educational reasons, and that there is sufficient justification for the school or program to operate on a calendar that differed from the common calendar.  The superintendent would have to establish standards for determining a bona fide year-round school or program and a bona fide trimester schedule.

Single Site-Advanced Placement Exception.  The bill would not apply to a public school that operated all of grades 6-12 at a single site, that aligned its high school curriculum with advanced placement courses as the capstone of the curriculum, and that ended its second academic semester concurrently with the end of the advanced placement exam period.

MCL 380.1284a

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would have no fiscal impact for state government, but may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local and intermediate school districts.

To the extent that having a common calendar for school vacations and professional development days could create efficiencies and collaboration in providing services such as professional development, transportation, and food services, it would provide savings to districts.  However, a common calendar may also limit flexibility which could instead increase costs if districts cannot take advantage of lower cost opportunities due to scheduling.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   J. Hunault

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Mary Ann Cleary

                                                                                                                           Bethany Wicksall

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.