ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 108
BY REPRESENTATIVE SIMON
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the State Board 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 any recommendations to the House
Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than
March 1, 2020.
WHEREAS, school calendars and schedules for public school students in Louisiana
are determined by each public school governing authority; and
WHEREAS, current law, R.S. 17:154.1, requires that a school day consist of at least
three hundred sixty minutes of instructional time and a school year consist of at least one
hundred seventy-seven days of instruction; and
WHEREAS, the law authorizes a public school governing authority to modify the
total number of instructional minutes per day and instructional days per year provided the
number of instructional minutes per year is not less than the total instructional time achieved
by one hundred seventy-seven three hundred sixty-minute days; and
WHEREAS, policies adopted by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education relative to instructional time provide that each public school governing authority
shall adopt a calendar that includes a school year that is in accordance with current law; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Louisiana law has authorized the operation of year-round
schools for many decades; and
WHEREAS, with the flexibility given to public school governing authorities to set
school calendars best suited for their students, employees, and families, the governing
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authorities have various options available such as shortening the school week, lengthening
the school day, and conducting school year-round; and
WHEREAS, over the years, some schools and school systems in Louisiana have
implemented a four-day schedule and Avoyelles Parish recently announced its plans to move
to this type of schedule beginning in the next school year; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
over five hundred school districts in twenty-five states have one or more schools using a
four-day schedule and this option has become more common over the last decade; and
WHEREAS, NCSL found that the reasons for implementing the shorter school week
vary but most school districts implement it to cut costs due to budget constraints; and
WHEREAS, the research further found that the majority of schools using a four-day
week are in rural districts but that in recent years some larger, urban districts have begun to
consider the option; and
WHEREAS, other research shows that in the past few years schools in several states
including Florida, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico have
converted to four-day school weeks to save transportation and utility costs, and currently,
more than half of Colorado's school districts are using a four-day school week; and
WHEREAS, in addition to cost savings, other advantages reported by some that have
shortened the school week include improvements in student attendance, academic
achievement, and teacher recruitment, more time for professional development and lesson
planning for teachers, and parents and teachers can schedule doctor's appointments and other
weekday commitments on the day that school is not in session; and
WHEREAS, some disadvantages that have been found include difficulty for some
parents who are unable to find child care for the one day school is closed each week and
students do not have access to school meals on the day off; and
WHEREAS, like four-day school weeks, a disadvantage of operating schools on a
year-round basis is the difficulty for parents to arrange for child care; other drawbacks
include interference with students extracurricular activities, sports schedules, and family
vacations; and
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WHEREAS, some benefits of year-round schooling, as well as lengthening the
school day, are more time for student learning, higher academic achievement, maximum
utilization of school facilities, and increased teacher pay; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to consider research on these and other positive and
negative effects of school calendar options for Louisiana's public schools in order to assist
public school governing authorities in determining schedules that best meet the needs of
their students, employees, and families.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
request the State Board 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 Committee on Education and the Senate
Committee on Education not later than March 1, 2020.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
superintendent of education.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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