HLS 19RS-2864 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 108
BY REPRESENTATIVE SIMON
SCHOOLS: Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study
school calendar options for public schools
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
3 advantages and disadvantages of school calendar options for public schools and to
4 submit a written report of its findings and any recommendations to the House
5 Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than
6 March 1, 2020.
7 WHEREAS, school calendars and schedules for public school students in Louisiana
8are determined by each public school governing authority; and
9 WHEREAS, current law, R.S. 17:154.1, requires that a school day consist of at least
10three hundred sixty minutes of instructional time and a school year consist of at least one
11hundred seventy-seven days of instruction; and
12 WHEREAS, the law authorizes a public school governing authority to modify the
13total number of instructional minutes per day and instructional days per year provided the
14number of instructional minutes per year is not less than the total instructional time achieved
15by one hundred seventy-seven three hundred sixty-minute days; and
16 WHEREAS, policies adopted by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
17Education relative to instructional time provide that each public school governing authority
18shall adopt a calendar that includes a school year that is in accordance with current law; and
19 WHEREAS, in addition, Louisiana law has authorized the operation of year-round
20schools for many decades; and
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HCR NO. 108
1 WHEREAS, with the flexibility given to public school governing authorities to set
2school calendars best suited for their students, employees, and families, the governing
3authorities have various options available such as shortening the school week, lengthening
4the school day, and conducting school year-round; and
5 WHEREAS, over the years, some schools and school systems in Louisiana have
6implemented a four-day schedule and Avoyelles Parish recently announced its plans to move
7to this type of schedule beginning in the next school year; and
8 WHEREAS, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
9over five hundred school districts in twenty-five states have one or more schools using a
10four-day schedule and this option has become more common over the last decade; and
11 WHEREAS, NCSL found that the reasons for implementing the shorter school week
12vary but most school districts implement it to cut costs due to budget constraints; and
13 WHEREAS, the research further found that the majority of schools using a four-day
14week are in rural districts but that in recent years some larger, urban districts have begun to
15consider the option; and
16 WHEREAS, other research shows that in the past few years schools in several states
17including Florida, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico have
18converted to four-day school weeks to save transportation and utility costs, and currently,
19more than half of Colorado's school districts are using a four-day school week; and
20 WHEREAS, in addition to cost savings, other advantages reported by some that have
21shortened the school week include improvements in student attendance, academic
22achievement, and teacher recruitment, more time for professional development and lesson
23planning for teachers, and parents and teachers can schedule doctor's appointments and other
24weekday commitments on the day that school is not in session; and
25 WHEREAS, some disadvantages that have been found include difficulty for some
26parents who are unable to find child care for the one day school is closed each week and
27students do not have access to school meals on the day off; and
28 WHEREAS, like four-day school weeks, a disadvantage of operating schools on a
29year-round basis is the difficulty for parents to arrange for child care; other drawbacks
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HCR NO. 108
1include interference with students extracurricular activities, sports schedules, and family
2vacations; and
3 WHEREAS, some benefits of year-round schooling, as well as lengthening the
4school day, are more time for student learning, higher academic achievement, maximum
5utilization of school facilities, and increased teacher pay; and
6 WHEREAS, there is a need to consider research on these and other positive and
7negative effects of school calendar options for Louisiana's public schools in order to assist
8public school governing authorities in determining schedules that best meet the needs of
9their students, employees, and families.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
11request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the advantages and
12disadvantages of school calendar options for public schools and to submit a written report
13of its findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Education and the Senate
14Committee on Education not later than March 1, 2020.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
16president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
17superintendent of education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 108 Original 2019 Regular Session Simon
Requests the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the advantages and
disadvantages of school calendar options for public schools and to submit a written report
of its findings and recommendations to the House and Senate education committees by
March 1, 2020.
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