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School Schedule Guidelines

Elementary School

Guidelines

State Department of Education (SDE) regulations require that students (grades 1-5) be in school directed activities, exclusive of lunch, 5.5 hours per day or 990 hours a year. Kindergarten students will be in school-directed activities, exclusive of lunch, for 2.5 hours a day or 450 hours a school year. Up to 30 minutes a day of recess may be counted as instructional time. All school schedules must be approved by the Superintendent or designee by June 30 of each year.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten home visits may be scheduled for the first five days of school. In this case, the first day of kindergarten classes for all kindergarten students will be the sixth day of the school year. The following yearly activities are included as instructional time:

  1. Home visits during the first week of school not to exceed a total of two and one-half days 
  2. Registration days 
  3. Parent/teacher conference days related to student progress reporting (two per year

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled at least twice a year. See the directive on transportation for bus scheduling.

Middle School

Guidelines

State Department of Education (SDE) regulations require that students in grades 1-6 be in school directed activities, exclusive of lunch, 5.5 hours per day or 990 hours a year. Students in grades 7-12 are required to be in school-directed activities 6.0 hours per day or 1080 hours per year. Because APS middle schools include sixth grade, the district requires 6.0 hours per day or 1080 hours per year at grades 6, 7, and 8.

School-directed activities include:

  1. Regularly scheduled classes organized to meet state and district competencies and requirements. 
  2. Passing periods. Passing periods should not exceed 30 minutes per day. Passing periods before and after school are not counted as instructional time.

Homerooms, advisory periods, and supervised study periods not to exceed 30 minutes per day.

School Hours. Middle school sessions will be six hours plus a minimum of a 30-minute lunch break. School hours will be extended to make up for days or hours students are released for teacher inservice. All school schedules must be approved by the superintendent or designee each year.

Proposed time schedules...[See "School Hours" under "High Schools" below].

High Schools

Guidelines

State Department of Education (SDE) regulations required that regular students be in school directed activities, exclusive of lunch, 6.0 hours per day or 1080 hours a year. The minimum allowable time per class period will be fifty (50) minutes, and the maximum allowable passing period will be ten (10) minutes. The additional time needed to fulfill the 6.0 hours requirements will be used for directed instructional activities. School-directed activities are defined to include the following:

  1. Passing periods. The passing period should not exceed 10 minutes. Any exception(s) must be approved by the Superintendent or designee. 
  2. Homerooms and study halls 
  3. Independent Study Programs
  4. Approved Work-Study Programs
  5. Internships 
  6. Mentorships

Total Student Instructional Day and Credit Hours. A minimum of 250 minutes per week of directed class activity for 36 weeks or a minimum total of 150 clock hours (180 sessions x 50 minutes) will be required to offer one (1) unit of credit, excluding passing periods. This directive will not be used to deny credit to a student who is present in class for fewer than 150 clock hours. (See APS Student Behavior Handbook on attendance.)

School Hours. High school sessions will be six hours plus a minimum of a 30-minute lunch break. This does not include extended day classes such as "0" hours or extended day classes scheduled outside the usual school day. Schools hours will be extended to make up for days or hours students are released for teacher inservice.

Proposed time schedules will be submitted annually to the Superintendent designee. This should include a daily schedule, a period designation, and the time of each.

Consideration of the Career Enrichment Center shuttle bus schedule must be made to facilitate students being able to attend.

Master Schedule. Required and elective classes should be equally distributed throughout the regular school day.

Offerings in the extended period should be based upon student need. Master schedules are to be approved by Superintendent or designee each year.

Student Load. Beginning with the class of 1990, students will be scheduled for a minimum of six (6) periods or a minimum of three (3) credits per semester or term. The only exceptions are students who are legally excused because of work permits, health conditions, or who are enrolled in other approved programs. Any total number of credits exceeding (8) credits per year must be approved by the appropriate Assistant Superintendent responsible for Instruction.

A student who is approved for less than the minimum class load requirement must enroll for at least three classes or one-half of the normal full-time class load. The principal may approve a part-time class load for a student attending a registered home school if the student enrolls for enough classes to be eligible for state funding.

Cross Ref.:

NSBA/NEPN Classification: ID

Revised: May 1995
Revised: April 1996
Revised: May 1997
Revised: June 2002