The Board of Education shall determine annually the total number of hours when the schools will be in session for instructional purposes with students in attendance - including scheduled classes, supervised activities and approved education options.

At least thirty (30) days prior to adopting a school calendar, the Board shall hold a public hearing on the school calendar, addressing topics that include, but are not limited to, the total number of hours in a school year, length of school day, and beginning and end dates of instruction. "School day" means the time during a calendar day that a school is open for instruction pursuant to the Board-adopted schedule.

When establishing the school calendar, the Board requires that an observance be scheduled each year on or about Veterans Day to convey the meaning and significance of that day to all students and staff. The observance shall be at least one (1) hour, or, in schools that schedule class periods of less than one (1) hour, at least one (1) standard class period.

While the Superintendent may close schools due to disease, epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, law enforcement emergencies, damage to a school building, utility failure, or inoperability of school buses or other equipment needed for school operations (collectively, "a calamity"), the schools nevertheless must be in session with students in attendance for at least the minimum number of hours required by Ohio law.

The Superintendent shall annually recommend to the Board a school calendar that exceeds the following statutory minimum number of hours in which the District's schools are open for instruction with students in attendance (including regularly scheduled classes, supervised activities such as assemblies, approved education options, and co-curricular activities during the scheduled school day, but excluding lunch and breakfast periods and extracurricular activities):

When developing school calendar options for the Board's review and approval, the Superintendent may include:

The Superintendent shall identify in his/her proposed school calendar the dates and times the District will be open for instructional purposes if it has to make up time in order to meet the contractual obligations as listed in the District's negotiated agreements.

If the Superintendent intends to recommend a reduction in the number of hours in each school year that the school is scheduled to be open for instruction from the number of hours per year the school was open for instruction during the previous school year, the Superintendent must expressly notify the Board of the proposed reduction, which the Board must vote to approve.

Prior to recommending to the Board any change in the hours or days in which a District high school is open for instruction, the Superintendent must consider the compatibility of the proposed change with the scheduling needs of Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Center. The Superintendent shall further consider the impact of the proposed change on a) student access to the instructional programs offered by Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Center, b) incentives for students to participate in career-technical education, c) transportation, and d) the timing of graduation. The Superintendent shall address the preceding issues when presenting school calendar options to the Board for its review and adoption. If the Board intends to change the hours or days in which the District high school is open for instruction, it must provide Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Center Board with advance notice of the proposed change. The two (2) Boards must then enter into a written agreement that prescribes reasonable accommodations to meet the scheduling needs of the joint vocational school district prior to implementation of the change.

Additionally, prior to recommending to the Board any change in the hours of days in which a District school is open for instruction, the Superintendent must consider the compatibility of the proposed change with the scheduling needs of any community school to which the District is required to transport students. The Superintendent shall further consider the impact of the proposed change on a) student access to the instructional programs offered by the community school, b) transportation, and c) the timing of graduation. The Superintendent shall address the preceding issues when presenting school calendar options to the Board for its review and adoption. If the Board intends to change the hours or days in which a District school is open for instruction, the Board shall provide the sponsor, governing authority, and operator of the community school(s) with advance notice of the proposed change, and the Board and the governing authority, or operator if such authority is delegated to the operator, shall enter into a written agreement prescribing reasonable accommodations to meet the scheduling needs of the community school prior to implementation of the change.

Finally, prior to recommending to the Board any change in the hours or days in which the District schools are open for instruction, the Superintendent must consult with the chartered nonpublic schools to which the District transports students and consider the effect of the proposed change on the schedule for transportation of those students to their nonpublic schools. Similarly, the governing authority of a chartered nonpublic school must consult with the Superintendent if the District transports students to the chartered nonpublic school prior to making any change in the hours or days in which the nonpublic school is open for instruction.

R.C. 3313.602, 3313.48, 3313.62, 3313.63, 3317.01 (B), 3313.482

Revised 7/94; Readopted 8/94
Revised 11/98; Readopted 12/98
Revised 1/09; Readopted 2/09
Revised 2/28/11
Revised 10/26/15