200-RICR-20-05-1. Regulations Governing the School Calendar and Length of the School Day (version Adoption, 09/08/2005 to 01/01/2016)

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE LENGTH OF THE SCHOOL DAY June, 2004 1. Required Length of School Day – Elementary and Secondary: 1.1. For the purposes of 16-6-6 and 3 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, 1956, as amended, a “day” or “school day” is defined by the Board of Regents for Education to mean regular operation of all schools in the town for a period which, in the case of elementary schools, consists of not less than five and a half (5 ½ ) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) of actual school work excluding lunch, recess periods, common planning time, pre and post school teacher time and any other time that is not actual instructional time. The kindergarten day shall be not less than two and three quarters (2 ¾ ) hours (one hundred and sixty-five (165) minutes) of actual school work excluding, recess and any other time that is not actual instructional time). 1.2. In the case of secondary schools, the school day shall also consist of not less than five and a half (5 ½) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) of actual school work, excluding lunch, recess periods, study halls, homeroom, common planning time, student passing time, pre and post teacher time, and any other time that is not actual instructional time. 1.3. For purposes of determining the adequacy of instructional time, time dedicated to student advisory may be included in calculating the required instructional time. The Commissioner shall make such additional determinations as to the inclusion or exclusion of time within the category of instructional time based upon his review of each district’s submission of its elementary and secondary schedules. 2. Secondary Level Compliance: 2.1. School districts may comply with the requirement to provide students with three hundred and thirty (330) minutes of actual instructional time per school day in a traditional secondary school model which utilizes six (6) or seven (7) class periods per day. While the actual structure of the traditional secondary school day varies from district to district this approach requires the use of significant amounts of non-instructional time which must be excluded when calculating the required five and a half (5 ½ ) hours of instructional time. A sample traditional secondary school schedule is included below. Final version 9-10-04 1 2.2. A school district shall provide the Commissioner with either: (a) their traditional schedule following a configuration similar to that set forth in the Sample Secondary Schedule, demonstrating that five and a half (5 ½ ) hours of time is dedicated solely to instruction; or (b) their non-traditional (e.g. block or other) schedule demonstrating that five and a half (5 ½) hours of time is dedicated solely to instruction. SAMPLE SECONDARY SCHEDULE Required Minutes Non-instructional Minutes 6-7 class periods 330 5-6 passing times @ approx. 5 minutes 30 Lunch @ approx. 30 minutes 30 Pre and post teacher time @ approx. 30 minutes 30 Subtotal 330 90 Total = 420 minutes = 7 hours 2.3. A school district using this traditional six (6) to seven (7) class period day approach must exclude all lunch, study halls, homeroom, common planning time, student passing time, and pre and post school teacher time in demonstrating that five and a half (5 ½ ) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) of instructional time have been delivered to students but may include time dedicated to student advisory in calculating instructional time requirements. 3. Alternative Secondary Level Approaches: 3.1. A school district can comply with these regulations utilizing a schedule other than a traditional six (6) to seven (7) class period secondary schedule. To do so a school district shall submit a plan to the Commissioner for approval that documents the district’s plan for delivering any of the following instructional time equivalencies in compliance with these regulations: (a) 1,650 (one thousand six hundred and fifty) minutes of instructional time per week (330 minutes times five days), excluding lunch, study halls, homeroom, common planning time, student passing time, pre and post teacher time, and any other time that is not actual instructional time; (b) 59,400 (fifty nine thousand four hundred) minutes of instructional time per year (330 minutes times 180 days), excluding lunch, study halls, homeroom, common planning time, student passing time, pre and post teacher time, and any other time that is not actual instructional time; 3.2. A plan, approved by the school committee, for alternative means of complying with the instructional minutes requirements for students set forth in these regulations must be submitted by December 31 of the year prior to the proposed Final version 9-10-04 2 implementation year. The Commissioner will review the plan and approve the plan as submitted or require amendments to the plan by February 1 of the year prior to the proposed implementation year in order that staffing decisions can be made consistent with the approved schedule providing the required amount of student instructional time. 4. Elementary Level Compliance: 4.1. The elementary school student instructional time requirement has heretofore been five (5) hours (three hundred (300) minutes) of instruction. The Board of Regents has determined that it is necessary to increase the elementary school instructional time requirement to five and a half (5 ½ ) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) in parity with the secondary school instructional time requirement to reflect the expanded challenges of increasing student performance so that all students are proficient in reading and mathematics by grade four and so that the elementary school instructional day includes sufficient instructional time for all students to have meaningful access to art, music, foreign language (where applicable) and other related instructional activities including but not limited to library, health and physical education as required by the Basic Education Program (BEP). 4.2. School district compliance with the requirement to provide elementary students with five and a half (5 ½ ) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) of actual instructional time per school day must include the requirements found in the Basic Education Program (BEP) for provision of art and music programming to students at the elementary level. Instructional activities in basic academic disciplines of English language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, combined with instruction in art, music, foreign language (where applicable) or other related instructional activities including but not limited to library, health, physical education and student advisory must combine to provide five and a half (5 ½ ) hours (three hundred and thirty (330) minutes) of actual instruction to students. This will exclude lunch, recess, pre and post school teacher time, common planning time and other non-instructional use of time. A sample elementary schedule is provided below. 4.3. A school district shall provide the Commissioner with either: (a) their traditional schedule following a configuration similar to that set forth in the Sample Elementary Schedule, demonstrating that five and a half (5 ½ ) hours of time is dedicated solely to instruction; or (b) their alternative schedule demonstrating that five and a half (5 ½) hours of time is dedicated solely to instruction. SAMPLE ELEMENTARY SCHEDULE Final version 9-10-04 3 Required Minutes Non-instructional Minutes English/Language Arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, physical education and other related instruction as required by the BEP 330 Recess @ approx. 30 minutes 30 Lunch @ approx. 30 minutes 30 Pre and post teacher time @ approx. 30 minutes 30 Subtotal 330 90 Total = 420 minutes = 7 hours 5. Alternative Elementary Level Approaches: 5.1. A school district can comply with these regulations utilizing a schedule other than the sample elementary schedule provided in these regulations. To do so a school district shall submit a plan to the Commissioner for approval that documents the district’s plan for delivering any of the following instructional time equivalencies in compliance with these regulations: (a) 1,650 (one thousand six hundred and fifty) minutes of instructional time per week (330 minutes times five days), excluding lunch, recess periods, pre and post teacher time, common planning time, and any other time that is not actual instructional time; (b) 59,400 (fifty nine thousand four hundred) minutes of instructional time per year (330 minutes times 180 days), excluding lunch, recess periods, pre and post teacher time, common planning time and any other time that is not actual instructional time; 5.2. A plan, approved by the school committee, for alternative means of complying with the instructional minutes requirements for students set forth in these regulations must be submitted by December 31 of the year prior to the proposed implementation year. The Commissioner will review the plan and approve the plan as submitted or require amendments to the plan by February 1 of the year prior to the proposed implementation year in order that staffing decisions can be made consistent with the approved schedule providing the required amount of student instructional time. 6. Additional Requirements for Districts in Multi-Year Intervention Status: 6.1. School districts that are in intervention status pursuant to R.I.G.L. 16-7.1-5 “Progressive Support and Intervention” for more than three consecutive years shall require professional time for teachers which shall be used for professional planning for school improvement and improvement of student learning and results. This professional time shall include at least two distinct elements: (1) Final version 9-10-04 4 not less than fifteen hours of ongoing professional development annually (as already required for high schools pursuant to the Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education Regarding Public High Schools) and (2) not less than one hour per week of common planning time for teachers organized around students (as already required for high schools pursuant to the Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education Regarding Public High Schools). 6.2. Professional time defined - In those districts in which student learning and results have been substantially insufficient over a period of years the Board of Regents has determined that it is absolutely essential that teachers have both (1) opportunities to meet together to plan for school improvement and improvement of student learning as well as (2) opportunities to acquire professional development and skills necessary to meeting the substantial challenges of educating whole populations of children that are lagging significantly behind state and federal goals for learning. Mandatory professional time for teachers in districts in multi-year intervention status shall include both (1) routine, embedded, substantial and continuous professional development activities, as well as (2) ongoing, continuous and substantial common planning time, organized around students, for purposes of school improvement and improvement of student learning. 6.3. Monitoring and compliance with the professional time requirement in the context of Progressive Support and Intervention pursuant to R.I.G.L. 16-7.1-5 - The sufficiency and use of mandatory professional time in districts in multi-year intervention status shall be monitored through the Progressive Support and Intervention Face to Face meeting process by a Commissioner of Education. Each district in multi-year intervention status may employ different approaches for the amount and use of this mandatory professional time for teachers. 6.4. The sufficiency and use of such time must be approved on a district by district basis by the Commissioners in the context of Progressive Support and Intervention utilizing frameworks and rubrics for what is necessary and sufficient for district and school improvement and reform in the districts with the lowest student results. 6.5. Although the authority to make this district by district determination of adequacy has been delegated to the Commissioner, the Board of Regents has determined that (1) not less than fifteen hours of ongoing professional development annually (as already required for high schools pursuant to the Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education Regarding Public High Schools) and (2) not less than one hour per week of common planning time for teachers organized around students (as already required for high schools pursuant to the Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education Regarding Public High Schools) is the minimum necessary if school Final version 9-10-04 5 improvement and improvement of student learning and results is to be seriously undertaken. 6.6. The Board of Regents expect that teacher professional time substantially in excess of these minimum requirements will be necessary in those districts most in need of school improvement and improvement of student learning and results. 6.7. Each district subject to this section shall submit a plan to the Commissioner for approval no later than December 31 of the year prior to the implementation of the plan for how such time will be required of teachers in the school district. 7. Effective Date: 7.1. These regulations shall be effective for the 2005-2006 school year for districts in intervention status pursuant to R.I.G.L. 16-7.1-5 for more than three consecutive years. In these districts the plan for providing the required instructional time for students pursuant to these regulations and mandatory professional time for teachers in the context of Progressive Support and Intervention pursuant to R.I.G.L. 16-7.1-5 shall be due to the Commissioner by December 31, 2004. 7.2. For any school district which enters into its third consecutive year in intervention status pursuant to R.I.G.L. 16-7.1-5 during or after the 2004-2005 school year shall submit to the Commissioner its plan for compliance with these regulations by December 31 of the year following the year in which it is so designated. 7.3. For all other school districts these regulations shall be effective for the 2007- 2008 school year or not sooner than 2006-2007. Final version 9-10-04 6