School Days and Hours of Instruction

Date: January 6, 2004

To: School District Administrators

From: David Carlson, Director
School Financial Services Team

Re: School Days and Hours of Instruction

The Department has recently received a number of inquiries regarding school days and hours of instruction, including questions about inclement weather days. The following is a selected sampling of the pertinent statutes that apply to school days and hours of instruction. They are provided to give guidance in local deliberations.

115.01 (10) SCHOOL DAY. (a) School days are days on which school is actually taught and the following days on which school is not taught:

1. Days on which school is closed by order of the school district administrator because of inclement weather and days on which parent-teacher conferences are held, not to exceed 5 days during the school term.
2. Days on which school is closed by order of a local health officer, as defined in s. 250.01(5).
   
   (b) Not to exceed 5 Saturdays may be counted as school days in any school year when school is taught thereon with the consent of the school board.

121.02(1)(f) Each school board shall: 1. Schedule at least 180 school days annually, less any days during which the state superintendent determines that a school is not held or educational standards are not maintained as the result of a strike by school district employees.

121.02(1)(f) Each school board shall: 2. Annually, schedule at least 437 hours of direct pupil instruction in kindergarten, at least 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1 to 6 and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7 to 12. Scheduled hours under this subdivision include recess and time for pupils to transfer between classes but do not include the lunch period. A school board operating a 4-year old kindergarten program may use up to 87.5 of the scheduled hours for outreach activities.

121.006(2)(a) State aid withheld. Hold school for least 180 days each year, less any days during which the state superintendent determines that school is not held or educational standards are not maintained as the result of a strike by school district employees, the days to be computed in accordance with s. 115.01(10).

Please contact one of the following School Financial Services Team members should you have additional questions:

Brad Adams	(608) 267-3752	bradley.adams@dpi.wi.gov
Karen Kucharz	(608) 267-9707	karen.kucharz@dpi.wi.gov
Jerry Landmark	(608) 266-3464	jerome.landmark@dpi.wi.gov

For questions about this information, contact dpifin@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-9114

Last updated on 2/25/2008 12:03:52 PM