H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 7.61 of S.L. 2023-134 directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent) to select 10 local school administrative units (LEAs) to participate in a remote instruction flexibility pilot program (Pilot) that allows local boards of education to establish a school calendar for high schools that uses up to 5 days or 30 hours of remote instruction to ensure that all final examinations for the fall semester are administered to students prior to December 31 of the school year. The remote instruction days or hours used as part of the Pilot are to be in addition to any other remote instruction time already authorized in law. The Pilot will be for the 2023-2024 through 2027-2028 school years and is exempted from the calendar law that mandates school start dates.

The 10 LEAs selected by the Superintendent must be geographically diverse and represent the varying climate regions of the State including at least one LEA that would qualify for a good-cause school calendar waiver. Each local board of education participating in the Pilot must annually report to the Superintendent the following information:

• The high schools that participated in the Pilot with a copy of the high school calendars that designate all remote instruction time, including whether the instruction was remote under the Pilot or due to an emergency already authorized by law.
• The methods for providing instruction outside of the school facility.
• The impact on academic outcomes for students in comparison to the recent years where final examinations for the fall semester were administered after December 31.
• Identified advantages and disadvantages to using the Pilot calendar and additional remote learning.

The Superintendent must annually summarize the information provided by the participating local boards of education and provide a report of that information, including a copy of each participating local board of education's report, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee beginning September 15, 2024, and ending September 15, 2028.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.