TITLE: Relating to the first and last days of instruction and the number of hours in a school day at a public school.

SUMMARY: Relating to the first and last days of instruction and the number of hours in a school day at a public school.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the first and last days of instruction and the number of hours in a school day at a public school. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 25.0811(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) Except as provided by this section, a school district may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August].A school district may: (1) begin instruction for students for a school year before the Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August] if the district operates a year-round system under Section 25.084; or (2) begin instruction for students for a school year on or after the first Monday in August at a campus or at not more than 20 percent of the campuses in the district if: (A) the district has a student enrollment of 190,000 or more; (B) the district at the beginning of the school year provides, financed with local funds, days of instruction for students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses, in addition to the minimum number of days of instruction required under Section 25.081; (C) the campus or each of the multiple campuses is [are] undergoing comprehensive reform, as determined by the board of trustees of the district; and (D) a majority of the students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses are educationally disadvantaged. SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 25.0812 to read as follows: Sec. 25.0812. LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school district may not schedule the last day of school for students for a school year after the Friday preceding Memorial Day. (b) A school district may schedule the last day of school for students for a school year after the Friday preceding Memorial Day if the district operates a year-round system under Section 25.084. (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district that does not offer each grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 and whose prospective or former students generally attend school in another state for the grade levels the district does not offer may schedule the last day of school on any date permitted under Subsection (a) or the law of the other state. SECTION 3. Section 25.082(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) A school day shall be at least 7.5 [seven] hours each day, including intermissions and recesses. SECTION 4. Section 25.084(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) A school district may operate its schools year-round on either a single-track or a multitrack calendar. If a school district adopts a year-round system, the district may modify: (1) the number of contract days of employees and the number of days of operation, including any time required for staff development, planning and preparation, and continuing education, otherwise required by law; (2) testing dates, data reporting, and related matters; (3) the date of the first day of instruction of the school year under Section 25.0811 and the date of the last day of school for a school year under Section 25.0812 for a school that was operating year-round for the 2014-2015 [2000-2001] school year; and (4) a student's eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities when the student's calendar track is not in session. SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.