There isn’t a limit on how many times a school corporation can call a delay to the start of school due to weather or other necessity, but there could be action on that sometime down the road.
Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dan Foster told the school board Wednesday morning that as of Wednesday, there have been 15 school days this school year where instruction started two hours late due to weather. Foster noted that that time adds up – that’s 30 hours of school instructional time lost because of weather. That’s valuable time of instruction, but the state does not require corporation to make up that time.
The lost instructional time has forced the school to delay the taking of the I-STEP exam by one week in March.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa previously said that safety is the number one concern when deciding when to call a two-hour delay or a cancellation of a school day.
It was explained by West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon that at least six hours of instruction are required at the high school/middle school level each day while five-and-a-half hours are required at the elementary school level. That’s how two-hour delays are permissible by the state.
Legislators have briefly discussed this issue but have not made any formal decisions in the matter. It’s not scheduled to be discussed this session.
