The House Sub-Committee on Academic & Career-Oriented Education will meet at 8 a.m., Thursday, April 24, 2025, to hear invited and public testimony on two bills:
HB 1209 Cunningham – The bill stipulates that all school districts must operate for a minimum of 175 instructional days and a corresponding 75,600 minutes of operation. Districts with below 8,000 student enrollment could seek exemptions from the 175-day requirement. A provision is added for districts to maintain a four-day school week following its adoption for the 2024-25 school year; however, performance issues would necessitate a transition back to a five-day week. The bill establishes that school instruction is prohibited on Memorial Day. The commissioner of the education is granted authority to reduce instructional days or minutes in cases of calamities and could also reduce funding for non-compliance. Districts would be eligible for waivers for safety training, enabling them to miss certain instructional days without losing mandatory operational hours. Additional instructional requirements would be imposed for prekindergarten and alternative education programs to secure state funding.
HB 4746 Turner – This bill mandates the commissioner of education to establish criteria for academic distinction based on outstanding performance in postsecondary readiness. Key criteria added include tracking the percentages of students who complete a P-TECH program along with existing metrics such as standardized test performance and other academic achievements. Under this bill, funding for districts would increase to $150 for each student enrolled at campuses designated as P-TECH, diverging from the previous model that would only provide $50 for specific program participation, which included New Tech Network campuses. This latter provision has been completely removed.
