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State Laws Governing School Calendar Development
HB1, passed by the Texas Legislature in special session, mandated a school start date no earlier than the fourth Monday in August, which would mean a student start date no earlier than August 25 for the 2008-2009 school year.
Texas Education Code 25.081 (TEC 25.081) states that school districts will provide 180 days of instruction for students. It also allows for districts to apply for a waiver to have as few as 175 days of instruction to allow classroom teachers additional days of staff development to improve their curricular knowledge and instructional strategies. Under the provisions of TEC 25.08q1, MISD has been granted a waiver from the state for a number of years to allow for 177 days of instruction and three additional days of staff development for our teaching staff.
Texas Education Code 25.0811 states that school districts are not allowed to begin instructional days for students until the week in which August 21 falls. For purposes of this code, Sunday is considered the first day of the week. TEC 25.0811 also allows for districts to apply for a school start day waiver to begin instructional days before the week in which August 21 falls. The Texas Education Agency has outlined a procedure for districts to use for waiver application. For more information on the waiver process, you may access the TEA link for the School Start Date waiver process at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/waivers/faqfirstday.html.
MISD School Calendar Development Assumptions
The committees that work directly with school calendar development generally agree on several assumptions that guide their planning. These are:
- To provide for 177 days of student instruction
- To provide for 7 days of teacher staff development
- To provide for 3 days of teacher preparation
- To complete the fall semester before Winter Break
- To complete the school year by the end of May
- To construct a calendar that is best educationally for the majority of students
MISD School Calendar Development Process
The school calendar development process encompasses several steps to insure input from all segments of the MISD community. The steps are as follows:
- Several district level committees are charged with the responsibility of giving formal school calendar development input. These are as follows:
- MISD District Site-Based Decision Making Council
- MISD Council of PTAs Executive Committee
- Mesquite Educators' Association Facility Representatives Committee
- Mesquite Educators' Association Professional Consultation Committee
- T. N. T. (Teachers Nurturing Teachers) Committee -- a committee consisting of one teacher staff development specialist from each campus
- MISD campus principals
- MISD central office administrative team
- A proposed draft calendar is presented to each group. All formal input is recorded and considered by each committee.
- The draft calendar is offered for informal public input through our website. All informal input is recorded and shared with committees.
- The final draft calendar is presented to the MISD Board of Trustees to be considered for approval.
Bad Weather Make-Up Dates
The state requires that all school calendars include two holidays that can be used as class instruction days should inclement weather force school closings during the winter months. Therefore, the MISD school calendar will always include two holidays in April and/or May that are designated as such.
Spring Break
All committees that deal directly with calendar development recommend scheduling a spring break for students and employees alike. Although our district cannot always coordinate our spring break with those designated by area universities and neighboring school districts, we work to achieve that goal.
Additional Information
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