84R13890 MEW-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 1578
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.