What's happening
This bill allows New York schools to meet instructional requirements through either 180 days or an equivalent number of instructional hours, providing districts with greater scheduling flexibility.
Why it matters
Empowers local school boards to tailor school calendars. By allowing districts to choose between 180 days or an equivalent number of instructional hours, local school boards can better address unique community needs—such as rural transportation challenges, student attendance patterns, or fiscal pressures—without sacrificing total instructional time.
Potential for cost savings and operational efficiency. The ability to compress instructional time into fewer days, if desired, can help districts cut costs related to energy, transportation, and substitute teachers, which can be particularly significant for small or rural districts facing budget constraints.
Mandates public input and transparency in schedule changes. The bill requires that any move to an alternative schedule must follow a thorough review process, including public hearings and consideration of impacts on educational quality, working parents, collective bargaining, and primary-grade students, giving communities a voice in major changes.
Protects instructional time and state aid accountability. The legislation ensures that state aid is tied to the actual amount of instructional time, not just days, and introduces clear penalties for noncompliance. This safeguard maintains educational standards and deters reductions in learning time under the guise of schedule flexibility.
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Let Schools Swap Days For Hours
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
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History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
10 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3376
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 6, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the required number of days school is in session and providing schools the option to operate one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that a number of schools nationwide have implemented a flexible school week schedule while still maintaining the statutorily required amount of instructional time. This type of flexibility has resulted in savings on such items as energy, transportation and substitute teacher costs, along with better attendance, less time lost to extracurricular activities, more opportunities for teacher training and appointments, and longer class periods for instructional time. Many of the districts in other states which have already implemented flexible school schedules tend to be smaller and rural with long transportation routes to and from schools, and with no other option to save costs other than to close schools or layoff staff. Given the fiscal crisis facing New York as well as rising fuel, energy, and transportation costs, a flexible school week schedule based on the equivalent hours of pupil instruction may offer schools operational flexibility without jeopardizing the amount of instructional time required by law.
New York state is without legal authority to operate less than one hundred eighty days of instruction without forfeiting state aid. The lack of operational flexibility in school districts, in particular regard to instructional days, is a problem largely unaddressed in state statute or regulation. A well-planned alternative school week schedule can be cost-effective, and can provide flexibility for those school districts in fiscal crisis, while maintaining a quality education.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05132-01-9
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Therefore, the legislature finds that enactment of this legislation is necessary and appropriate to make certain that school boards, after thorough review and public comment, have the discretion and authority to provide local school districts with operational flexibility to modify the number of instructional days per year, while maintaining the quality of education at the particular school or schools requesting a flexible school week schedule.
§ 2. Section 551 of the education law, as added by chapter 414 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
§ 551. Apportionment. 1. In order to meet proper health, welfare and safety standards in qualifying schools for the benefit of the pupils enrolled therein, there shall be apportioned health, welfare and safety grants by the commissioner to each qualifying school for the school years beginning on and after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one, an amount equal to the product of thirty dollars multiplied by the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of pupils receiving instruction in such school, to be applied for costs of maintenance and repair. Such apportionment shall be increased by ten dollars multiplied by the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of pupils receiving instruction in a school building constructed prior to nineteen hundred forty-seven. In no event shall the per pupil annual allowance computed under this section exceed fifty per centum of the average per pupil cost of equivalent maintenance and repair in the public schools of the state on a state-wide basis, as determined by the commissioner, and in no event shall the apportionment to a qualifying school exceed the amount of expenditures for maintenance and repair of such school as reported pursuant to section five hundred fifty-two of this article.
2. The apportionment pursuant to this section shall be reduced by one one hundred eightieth for each day less than one hundred eighty days that such school was actually in total session in the base year, or a school failing to comply with the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction shall forfeit from its apportionment an amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours the school was in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, except that the commissioner may disregard such reduction up to five days or the equivalent number of hours if he finds that the school was not in session for one hundred eighty days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction because of extraordinary adverse weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel or the destruction of a school building, and if the commissioner further finds that such school cannot make up such days or the equivalent number of hours of instruction during the school year. No such reduction shall be made, however, for any day on which such school was in session for the purpose of administering the regents examinations or the regents scholarship examinations, or any day, not to exceed three days, or the equivalent number of hours when such school was not in session because of a conference of teachers called by the principal of the school.
§ 3. Subdivision 2 of section 1704 of the education law, as amended by chapter 543 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
2. Except as otherwise provided by law, no board of education or community board in the city school district of the city of New York shall provide for a school year consisting of fewer than one hundred eighty days of school or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
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§ 4. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of section 2117 of the education law, as added by chapter 744 of the laws of 1952, are amended to read as follows:
a. The whole time school has been maintained in their district during the year ending on June thirtieth previous to the date of such report, and stating what portion of the time such school has been taught by qualified teachers, and the whole number of days, or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, including holidays, in which the school was taught by qualified teachers.
c. The number of children taught in the district during such year by qualified teachers, and the aggregate days' or equivalent hours' attendance of all such children.
§ 5. The first undesignated paragraph of section 3107 of the education law, as amended by chapter 784 of the laws of 1961, is amended to read as follows:
In cities having a population of one million or more, employees of the board of education who are members of the New York city teachers' retirement system shall be granted sick leave due to personal illness. Such sick leave shall be on the basis of at least ten days for each year of service, cumulative to a maximum of two hundred days. Members shall upon application be granted a retirement leave of absence with full pay consisting of one-half of their accumulated unused sick leave, up to a maximum of one school term or the equivalent number of school days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
§ 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 3204 of the education law is amended to read as follows:
a. A full time day school or class, except as otherwise prescribed, shall be in session for not less than one hundred ninety days each year, or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, inclusive of legal holidays that occur during the term of said school and exclusive of Saturdays.
§ 7. Paragraphs d, k and l of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the education law, as amended by section 11 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended to read as follows:
d. "Average daily attendance" shall mean the total number of attendance days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction of pupils in a public school of a school district in kindergarten through grade twelve, or equivalent ungraded programs, plus the total number of instruction days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction for such pupils receiving homebound instruction including pupils receiving instruction through a two-way telephone communication system, divided by the number of days or equivalent hours the district school was in session as provided in this section. The attendance of pupils with disabilities attending under the provisions of paragraph c of subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one of this chapter shall be added to average daily or equivalent hourly attendance.
(1) Equivalent attendance shall mean the quotient of the total number of student hours of instruction in programs in a public school of a school district or a board of cooperative educational services leading to a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma as defined in regulations of the commissioner for pupils under the age of twentyone not on a regular day school register of the district, divided by one thousand. Average daily or equivalent hourly attendance shall include the equivalent attendance of the school district. For the purposes of secondary school weighting, such equivalent attendance shall be consid-
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ered as average daily or equivalent hourly attendance in grades seven through twelve.
(2) In computing average daily or equivalent hourly attendance, school districts may, with the commissioner's approval, exclude attendance for those days or equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, on which school attendance was adversely affected because of an epidemic or manmade or natural disaster or act of terrorism. In computing such attendance, the school district shall: (i) determine the number of religious holidays which fall on a school day in which school is scheduled to be in session within a school year according to regulations established by the commissioner, such religious holidays to be duly recognized as such for purposes of this section by duly adopted resolution of the board of education; (ii) deduct the aggregate attendance on such religious holidays from the total aggregate attendance, by grade level; (iii) deduct such religious holidays from the total number of days or equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction of session, by grade level; and (iv) compute the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance for the school year.
k. "Attendance ratio" shall mean the number computed to four decimals without rounding when the aggregate days or equivalent hours attendance is divided by the possible aggregate attendance of all pupils in attendance in the district, as computed for each school district by the commissioner by June first of the year following the attendance year.
l. "Average daily membership" shall mean the possible aggregate attendance of all pupils in attendance in a public school of the school district in kindergarten through grade twelve, or equivalent ungraded programs, including possible aggregate attendance for such pupils receiving homebound instruction, including pupils receiving instruction through a two-way telephone communication system, with the possible aggregate attendance of such pupils in one-half day kindergartens multiplied by one-half, divided by the number of days or equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction the district school was in session as provided in this section. The full time equivalent enrollment of pupils with disabilities attending under the provisions of paragraph c of subdivision two of section forty-four hundred one of this chapter shall be added to average daily or equivalent hourly membership. Average daily or equivalent hourly membership shall include the equivalent attendance of the school district, as computed pursuant to paragraph d of this subdivision. In any instance where a pupil is a resident of another state or an Indian pupil is a resident of any portion of a reservation located wholly or partly within the borders of the state pursuant to subdivision four of section forty-one hundred one of this chapter or a pupil is living on federally owned land or property, such pupil's possible aggregate attendance shall be counted as part of the possible aggregate attendance of the school district in which such pupil is enrolled.
§ 8. Paragraphs a and b of subdivision 2 of section 3602 of the education law, as amended by section 13 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, are amended to read as follows:
a. Computation of resident weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance. For purposes of this section weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of a school district for any school year shall be computed as follows:
(1) Weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance shall be determined by using the average daily or equivalent hourly attendance of public school pupils in a full-day kindergarten and grades one through
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six as the basic unit, with the attendance of such pupils in one-half day kindergartens measured at one-half of such basic unit and the attendance of such pupils in grades seven through twelve measured at one and one-quarter of such basic unit. The sum of all such units of attendance shall be the weighted average daily or equivalent hourly attendance.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the required number of days school is in session and providing schools the option to operate one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to allow school boards the discretion and flexibility, after thorough review and public comment, to implement an alternative school week schedule where school districts would have the option to maintain the required one hundred eighty days of instruction or reduce days of instruction, while attaining the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction per year. Before authorizing school districts to modify the number of instructional days per year, the school board, within its review, shall include, but not be limited to consideration of the following: how the school or schools will maintain a quality educa- tion; the reason for the request; the educational benefit to pupils; ways to negotiate the changes with the collective bargaining unit representing the employees affected by the changes; input from employees affected by the changes but not represented by a collective bargaining agreement; the impact of an alternative school week schedule on primary grade pupils; and the impact of an alternative school week schedule on working parents who may be required to find child care services for their school age children due to the shortened school week. A school board, after review, but not limited to the considerations provided above, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive public input, and provide at least thirty days public notice prior to such hearing.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill provides the Legislative Intent.
Read the full memo (2,270 words)
Section 2 of the bill amends section 551 of the Education Law pertaining to apportionment of health and safety grants for nonpublic school chil- dren.
Section 3 of the bill amends section 1704 of the Education Law pertain- ing to Union Free School Districts, to require every board of education or community board in the city school district of the city of New York to provide a school year consisting of no fewer than one hundred eighty days of school or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
Section 4 of the bill amends section 2117 of the Education Law pertain- ing to reporting requirements by all owing the number of days of instruction and attendance to be calculated by the requisite number of days or the equivalent hours.
Section 5 of the bill amends section 3107 of the Education Law by providing employees of the board of education who are members of the New York city teachers' retirement system certain leave to be calculated based on the number of school days or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
Section 6 of the bill amends section 3204 of the Education Law pertain- ing to compulsory education and the length of school sessions to make the requirement that a full-time day school or class, except as other- wise prescribed, shall be in session for not less than 190 days each year, or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction, inclusive of legal holidays that occur during the term of said school and exclu- sive of Saturdays.
Section 7 of the bill amends section 3602 of the Education Law pertain- ing to the apportionment of public moneys to school districts employing eight or more teachers to define average daily attendance, equivalent attendance, attendance ratio, and average daily membership to include the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction.
Section 8 of the bill amends section 3602 of the Education Law pertain- ing to the apportionment of public moneys to school districts employing eight or more teachers and the computation of pupil counts and related factors to include the equivalent hourly attendance.
Section 9 of the bill amends section 3602-c of the Education Law pertaining to the apportionment of moneys to school districts for the provision of services to pupils attending nonpublic schools so that computation of the average daily attendance shall mean the total number of attendance days or, as amended, the equivalent number of hours.
Section 10 of the bill amends section 3602-e of the Education Law pertaining to the apportionment of public moneys with regard to universal prekindergarten programs to include the equivalent number of hours when computing a reduction in aid. Section 10 further amends this section so that a grant payable to a school district pursuant to this section in the current year shall be reduced by either one-hundred eightieth for each day less than one hundred eighty days that the universal prekindergarten classes of the district were in session, or a ratio of the number of hours the district was in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction. The commissioner may disregard such reduction for deficien- cies pursuant to subdivision seven or eight of section thirty-six hundred four of this part.
Section 11 of the bill amends section 3604 of the Education Law pertain- ing to conditions under which districts are entitled to apportionment where no district shall be entitled to state funds if operating less than one hundred eighty days, is applicable to the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction. The requirement that moneys payable to a school district pursuant to section thirty-six hundred nine-a of this part in the current year shall be reduced by one one-hundred eightieth of the district's total foundation aid for each day less than one hundred eighty days the schools of the district were actually in session, is applicable to a district failing to comply with the equiv- alent number of hours of pupil instruction. As amended, a district oper- ating on the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation an amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours the district was in noncompli- ance in relation to the required minimum equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction. The commissioner may disregard the reduction, up to five days or, as amended, by the equivalent number of hours in the apportionment of public money, if the commissioner finds the schools of the district were not in session for one hundred eighty days or, as amended, the equivalent number of hours for reasons including, but not limited to, extraordinarily adverse weather conditions.
Section 11 of the bill also creates a new subdivision to define one hundred eighty days to include one hundred eighty days of instruction or the equivalent number of hours of pupil instruction per school year based on a different number of days of instruction approved by the school district governing board or charter school governing body.
Section 11 of the bill also creates a new subdivision where local school boards, in their discretion, may authorize a modification of the number of instructional days per year after thorough review and comment. Before school board approval of the modification the school board shall consid- er, but not be limited to, various factors such as how schools will maintain a quality education; the reason for the request; educational benefit to pupils; negotiation with collective bargaining represen- tatives and also input from employees not represented by a collective bargaining unit; the impact of the schedule on primary grade pupils; and the impact on parents who may be required to find child care services for younger children, due to a shortened school week.
Section 11 of the bill also creates a new subdivision where a school board, after review, but not limited to the considerations under subdi- vision 7-b, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive public input, and provide at least one thirty days public notice prior to such hearing. The school board may authorize some or all of its schools to modify the number of instructional days per year provided the total number of hours of instruction per year is no less than the minimum number of instructional hours per year established by the commissioner's regulations for that particular group of pupils. The school board may provide for a school term consisting of school hours.
Section 11 of the bill also creates a new subdivision where a district that fails to comply with the required minimum hours of pupil instruc- tion per year as established by the commissioner's regulations, shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation an amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours the district was in noncompli- ance in relation to the required minimum number of hours as established by the commissioner. The board of each district, no later than August first, shall certify to the department the number of hours of pupil instruction in the previous school year. If the district did not provide at least the required minimum number of hours of pupil instruc- tion per year as established by the commissioner, the deduction of state aid shall be made in the following fiscal year from the first payment of state school aid.
Section 11 of the bill also creates a new subdivision whereby the commissioner shall promulgate regulations establishing the minimum number of hours of pupil instruction per year.
Section 11 further amends this section so that the provision where a deficiency caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superintendents of schools of city school districts or other school districts employing superintendents of schools shall be excused by the commissioner, is applicable to the equivalent number of hours.
Section 12 of the bill amends section 3635 of the Education Law pertain- ing to taxation and financial administration with regard to transporta- tion services so that the superintendent of each city school district in a city having a population in excess of one million, shall prepare a public school calendar and shall notify officials of nonpublic schools to which transportation has been requested not later than the first day of June in each year, of the days on which the public schools are sched- uled to be in session in the following school year.
Section 13 sets forth the effective date.
Justification
Existing law requires school districts to operate one hundred eighty days in order to obtain entitlement to state aid. This legislation would specify that schools may operate one hundred eighty days or the equiv- alent number of hours of pupil instruction per school year, as estab- lished by the commissioner, without affecting state aid allocations.
Considering the fiscal crisis facing schools in New York State, the allowance of a flexible school week schedule affords schools districts a cost-saving measure to save on transportation, utilities, substitute teacher costs, and other expenditures, while maintaining a quality education. Small rural schools, where bus routes are long and transpor- tation costs are high, would benefit from the option of a flexible school week.
The local school board, in its discretion, after thorough review and public comment, may authorize schools to modify the number of instruc- tional days per year. Before authorizing school districts to modify the number of instructional days per year, the school board, within its review, shall include, but not be limited to consideration of the following: how the school or schools will maintain a quality education; the reason for the request; the educational benefit to pupils; ways to negotiate the changes with the collective bargaining unit representing the employees affected by the changes; input from employees affected by the changes but not represented by a collective bargaining agreement; the impact of an alternative school week schedule on primary grade pupils; and the impact of an alternative school week schedule on working parents who may be required to find child care services for their school age children due to the shortened school week. A school board, after review, but not limited to the considerations provided above, shall conduct at least one public hearing to receive public input, and provide at least thirty days notice prior to such hearing.
At least seventeen states operate on a flexible school week schedule by conducting a four-day school week. These states have experienced not only cost-saving benefits for their districts, but also better attend- ance, morale, less time lost to extracurricular activities, more oppor- tunities for teacher training and appointments, and longer class periods for instruction time. Additionally, a flexible school week allows schools to make up school days missed due to weather by using the fifth day of school.
According to the Superintendent of Hadley-Luzerne Central School District in New York, the district is seeking nine days of longer class time and the tenth day off as a means to reduce transportation costs in the district. By moving to this flexible model, the District expects their transportation savings to be $135,772, with an estimated savings of 8.6% on overall transportation costs. Other additional areas of savings include heat and substitute teacher cost savings, for an esti- mated total overall savings of $200,922.
Additional examples of savings experienced by states operating on a flexible school week schedule include 13% to 20% savings in transporta- tion costs in Colorado; 20% in energy costs in Kansas; 12% in transpor- tation costs in Montana; and 10-15% in fuel and 10-20% in transportation costs in New Mexico.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.4538 passed Senate
2017: S.4538 passed Senate
2016: S.6114 Passed Senate
2015: S.1396 Referred to Education
2013,2014: S.4339 Referred to Education
2011,2012: S.2197 Referred to Education
2009,2010: S.4572 Referred to Education
Fiscal implications
Savings to local school districts in transportation, utilities, substi- tute teacher, and other expenditure costs.
Effective date
July 1 after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.