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§18­5­45. School calendar.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Instructional day" means a day within the instructional term which meets the following criteria:
(A) Instruction is offered to students for at least the minimum amount of hours provided by state
board rule;
(B) Instructional time is used for instruction and cocurricular activities; and
(C) Other criteria as the state board determines appropriate.
(2) "Cocurricular activities" are activities that are closely related to identifiable academic programs or
areas of study that serve to complement academic curricula as further defined by the state board.
(b) Findings. ­
(1) The primary purpose of the school system is to provide instruction for students.
(2) The school calendar, as defined in this section, is designed to define the school term both for
employees and for instruction.
(3) The school calendar shall provide for one hundred eighty separate instructional days.
(c) The county board shall provide a school term for its schools that contains the following:
(1) An employment term that excludes Saturdays and Sundays and consists of at least two hundred
days, which need not be successive. The beginning and closing dates of the employment term may not
exceed forty­eight weeks;
(2) Within the employment term, an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty
separate instructional days, which includes an inclement weather and emergencies plan designed to
guarantee an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional
days;
(3) Within the employment term, noninstructional days shall total twenty and shall be comprised of
the following:
(A) Seven paid holidays;
(B) Election day as specified in section two, article five, chapter eighteen­a of this code;
(C) Six days to be designated by the county board to be used by the employees outside the school
environment, with at least four outside the school environment days scheduled to occur after the one
hundred and thirtieth instructional day of the school calendar; and
(D) The remaining days to be designated by the county board for purposes to include, but not be
limited to:
(i) Curriculum development;
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(ii) Preparation for opening and closing school;
(iii) Professional development;
(iv) Teacher­pupil­parent conferences;
(v) Professional meetings;
(vi) Making up days when instruction was scheduled but not conducted; and
(vii) At least four two­hour blocks of time for faculty senate meetings with each two­hour block of
time scheduled once at least every forty­five instructional days; and
(4) Scheduled out­of­calendar days that are to be used for instructional days in the event school is
canceled for any reason.
(d) A county board of education shall develop a policy that requires additional minutes of instruction
in the school day or additional days of instruction to recover time lost due to late arrivals and early
dismissals.
(e) If it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty separate instructional days with the current
school calendar, the county board shall schedule instruction on any available noninstructional day,
regardless of the purpose for which the day originally was scheduled, or an out­of­calendar day and the
day will be used for instruction of students: Provided, That the provisions of this subsection do not apply
to:
(A) Holidays;
(B) Election day;
(C) Saturdays and Sundays.
(f) The instructional term shall commence and terminate on a date selected by the county board.
(g) The state board may not schedule the primary statewide assessment program more than thirty days
prior to the end of the instructional year unless the state board determines that the nature of the test
mandates an earlier testing date.
(h) The following applies to cocurricular activities:
(1) The state board shall determine what activities may be considered cocurricular;
(2) The state board shall determine the amount of instructional time that may be consumed by
cocurricular activities; and
(3) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may provide in the rule required to be
promulgated by this section.
(i) Extracurricular activities may not be used for instructional time.
(j) Noninstructional interruptions to the instructional day shall be minimized to allow the classroom
teacher to teach.
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(k) Prior to implementing the school calendar, the county board shall secure approval of its proposed
calendar from the state board or, if so designated by the state board, from the state superintendent.
(l) In formulation of a school's calendar, a county school board shall hold at least two public meetings
that allow parents, teachers, teacher organizations, businesses and other interested parties within the
county to discuss the school calendar. The public notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing
must be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the area as a Class II legal
advertisement, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty­nine of this code.
(m) The county board may contract with all or part of the personnel for a longer term of employment.
(n) The minimum instructional term may be decreased by order of the state superintendent in any
county declared a federal disaster area and where the event causing the declaration is substantially related
to a reduction of instructional days.
(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the state board may grant a waiver to a
county board for its noncompliance with provisions of chapter eighteen, eighteen­a, eighteen­b and
eighteen­c of this code to maintain compliance in reaching the mandatory one hundred eighty separate
instructional days established in this section.
(p) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three­b,
chapter twenty­nine­a of this code for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section.
(q) The amendments to this section during the 2013 regular session of the Legislature shall be
effective for school years beginning on or after July 1, 2014, and the provisions of this section existing
immediately prior to the 2013 regular session of the Legislature remain in effect for school years
beginning prior to July 1, 2014.
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ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2377
(By Delegates Pasdon, Statler, Duke, Wagner, Romine, Ambler
Espinosa and Campbell)
[Passed March 12, 2015; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §18­2­5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
authorizing State Board of Education to approve certain alternatives with respect to instructional
time proposed by a county board or school that meet the spirit and intent of affected statutes and
are intended to optimize student learning; removing outdated and conflicting provisions related to
school entrance and kindergarten; stating the purpose of subsection and providing context;
providing limitations on alternatives; and making findings on learning time for consideration by
state board.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18­2­5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18­2­5. Powers and duties generally; specific powers and duties for alternatives that improve
student learning.(a) Subject to and in conformity with the Constitution and laws of this
state, the State Board of Education shall exercise general supervision of the public schools
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of the state, and shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of article three­
b, chapter twenty­nine­a of this code for carrying into effect the laws and policies of the
state relating to education. The rules shall relate to the following:
(1) Standards for performance and measures of accountability;
(2) Physical welfare of students;
(3) Education of all children of school age;
(4) School attendance;
(5) Evening and continuation or part­time day schools;
(6) School extension work;
(7) Classification of schools;
(8) Issuing certificates based upon credentials;
(9) Distribution and care of instructional resources by county boards;
(10) General powers and duties of county boards, teachers, principals, supervisors and
superintendents; and
(11) Such other matters pertaining to the public schools of the state as the state board considers
necessary and expedient.
(b) The state board, in exercising its constitutional responsibility for the general supervision of
public schools, must do so as provided by general law. Included within the general law is the process for
improving education which has been recognized by the court as the method chosen by the Legislature to
measure whether a thorough and efficient education is being provided. The court further recognized that
the resulting student learning is the ultimate measure of a thorough education and that it must be
achieved in an efficient manner. To achieve this result, the state board must have reasonable discretion to
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balance the local autonomy and flexibility needed by schools to deliver a thorough and efficient
education with the letter of the laws as enacted for school operations.
(c) The purpose of this subsection is to authorize the state board to approve alternatives to the
letter of the laws enacted for school operations in the areas enumerated in this subsection. The state board
may approve such alternatives as proposed by a county board or school if, in the sole judgment of the
state board, the alternatives meet the spirit and intent of the applicable statutes and are intended solely to
optimize student learning.
(1) The Legislature finds that alternatives are warranted and may be approved by the state board
on a case­by­case basis when a county board submits to the state board a comprehensive plan for
optimizing student learning that:
(A) Achieves the spirit and intent of the laws for an instructional term that provide the
instructional time necessary for students to meet or exceed the high quality standards for student
performance adopted by the state board;
(B) Ensures sufficient time within the instructional term to promote the improvement of
instruction and instructional practices;
(C) Incorporates a school calendar approved in accordance with the approval process required by
section forty­five, article five of this chapter;
(D) Allows for school­level determination of alternatives affecting time within the school day that
preserve the spirit and intent of providing teachers with: (i) Sufficient planning time to develop engaging,
differentiated instruction for all students in all classes, which includes at least forty minutes in length for
the elementary level and as required by section fourteen, article four, chapter eighteen­a of this code for
the secondary level; and (ii) Collaborative time for teachers to undertake and sustain instructional
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improvement. This determination may be made only in the form of a school policy that is part of the
school’s strategic improvement plan and is approved by a vote of the faculty senate; and
(E) Has the sole purpose of improving student learning and that improvement is evident within a
reasonable period.
(2) The Legislature makes the following findings for consideration by the state board with respect
to optimizing student learning:
(A) Maximizing learning time is a critical factor needed to improve student learning and requires
multiple strategies and policies that support great teaching and learning;
(B) Learning time is that portion of instructional time in the school day during which a student is
paying attention and receiving instruction that is appropriately leveled, and learning is taking place.
Learning time must not be assumed to be the time that a student is seated at a desk, but may be achieved
through a variety of methods that actively engage students in learning;
(C) A student’s time engaged in learning is maximized when the student is allowed to progress
and acquire competency at a pace which challenges his or her interest and intellect while receiving
guidance and assistance when needed. Instructional strategies to help personalize student learning in this
manner are frequently assisted by technology;
(D) Providing teachers with the resources and support needed to engage students in meaningful,
appropriately leveled learning for as much time as is possible during the school day may be as important
as facilities, equipment and staff development for maximizing learning time and improving student
learning;
(E) Successful schools are distinguishable from unsuccessful schools by the frequency and extent
to which teachers discuss professional practices, collectively design materials and inform and critique
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one another;
(F) Even successful schools must be self­renewing systems and learning organizations marked by
deliberate effort to identify helpful knowledge and spread its use within the organization;
(G) Unless teachers are collectively involved in planning and implementing school improvement,
it is unlikely to be sustained; and
(H) Given sufficient control over their own programs and supportive district leadership and
policies, schools themselves may best be suited to determine the variety of methods through which time
during the school day is allocated for teachers to plan individually and collectively to maximize learning
time. Examples of methods used by successful schools include, but are not limited to, scheduling, using
special subject teachers and guest presenters, dedicating time set aside for staff development,
implementing alternative staff utilization patterns, providing opportunities for administrators to teach,
and utilizing accrued instructional time.
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