SB-0549, As Passed Senate, June 27, 2007
SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 549
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
(MCL 380.1 to 380.1852) by adding section 1284a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1284a. (1) Not later than July 1, 2008, an intermediate
school district, in cooperation with its constituent districts,
shall adopt a common school calendar to apply to all of its
constituent districts and to its intermediate school district
programs. The intermediate school district shall post the common
school calendar on its website. The common school calendar shall
meet all of the following:
(a) Shall be in compliance with sections 1284 and 1284b.
(b) Shall identify the dates for each school year when school
will not be in session for at least a winter holiday break, a
spring break, and professional development days. The common school
calendar shall identify these dates specifically for at least the
next 5 school years, but may describe these dates more generally
for school years thereafter as long as the dates may be readily
determined.
(2) Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, except as
otherwise provided in this section, the board of each constituent
district and the intermediate school board shall ensure that its
school calendar complies with the common school calendar adopted
under subsection (1).
(3) If a collective bargaining agreement that provides a
complete school calendar is in effect for employees of a school
district or intermediate school district as of the effective date
of this section, and if that school calendar is not in compliance
with the common school calendar adopted under subsection (1), then
subsection (2) does not apply to that school district or
intermediate school district until after the expiration of that
collective bargaining agreement.
(4) If as of the effective date of this section an
intermediate school district or school district is operating a
year-round school or program or is operating a school that is an
international baccalaureate academy that provides 1,160 hours of
pupil instruction per school year, then subsection (2) does not
apply to that school or program. If after the effective date of
this section an intermediate school district or school district
begins operating a year-round school or program, the school
district, intermediate school district, or public school academy
may apply to the superintendent of public instruction for a waiver
from the requirements of subsection (2) for that school or program.
The application shall be in writing in the form and manner
prescribed by the department and shall provide justification for
the school or program to operate on a calendar that differs from
the common calendar adopted under subsection (1). Upon application,
if the superintendent of public instruction determines that a
school or program is a bona fide year-round school or program
established for educational reasons and that there is sufficient
justification for the school or program to operate on a calendar
that differs from the common calendar adopted under subsection (1),
the superintendent of public instruction shall grant the waiver.
The superintendent of public instruction shall establish standards
for determining a bona fide year-round school or program for the
purposes of this subsection.
(5) If an intermediate school district or school district is
operating or begins operating a school or program on a trimester
schedule, the school district, intermediate school district, or
public school academy may apply to the superintendent of public
instruction for a waiver from the requirements of subsection (2)
for that school or program. The application shall be in writing in
the form and manner prescribed by the department and shall provide
justification for the school or program to operate on a calendar
that differs from the common calendar adopted under subsection (1).
Upon application, if the superintendent of public instruction
determines that a school or program 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 differs from the common calendar adopted
under subsection (1), the superintendent of public instruction
shall grant the waiver. The superintendent of public instruction
shall establish standards for determining a bona fide trimester
schedule for the purposes of this subsection.
(6) This section does not apply to a public school that
operates all of grades 6 to 12 at a single site, that aligns its
high school curriculum with advanced placement courses as the
capstone of the curriculum, and that ends its second academic
semester concurrently with the end of the advanced placement
examination period.