Section 3k: School week

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Rule Text

(k) "School week" means any seven-day calendar period starting with Sunday and continuing through Saturday that includes at least three days when a district's schools are in session.

Comments

The definition of a school week is used throughout the ALE rule. For example, students are required to have weekly contact once per school week. "School week" is also used in the calculations to determine if a student has met the differential funding time requirements.

Because a school week is defined as a week that includes at least three days when a district's schools are in session, if school is in session for only one or two days in a given week – for reasons including holidays or weather – an ALE program would not need to make weekly contact with students during that week in order to remain in compliance. In addition, such a week would be removed from the calculation for determining if a student had enough instructional contact time to be counted at the 90% level.

Note: This section was added prior to the 2012-13 school year. See the revisions.

Common Questions



Q. If the district’s schools are in session for three days in a week, as in the week of Thanksgiving, does it count as a “school week”?

A. Yes, a three-day week counts as a school week. ALE programs should plan accordingly in order to meet the weekly contact and differential funding requirements.

Last updated: 8/16/2012

Q. What determines if a school is “in session” or not?

A. The school district’s official calendar defines holidays and other times when school is or isn’t in session. School cancellations due to weather or other factors must be publicly announced to meet the requirement of “not in session”.

Last updated: 8/16/2012

Q. Do we need to make up weekly contact for a week that contains fewer than three school days?

A. No. Weekly contact is not required for any week that is not considered a “school week.”

Last updated: 8/16/2012

Q. When calculating the average hours per month for purposes of differential funding, can the time accrued during a non-school week be included in the calculation?

A. Yes, any time accrued in a non-school week can be included in that month’s calculation. The non-school week is not included in calculating the required average hours for the month. However, any hours logged during a shortened non-school week may be applied to the monthly calculation of the average time spent. For example, if school is cancelled due to snow on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving then that week, having only two school days, would not be considered a school week. But, if a student logged 1 hour of instructional contact time on the Tuesday of that week, then that time could be counted. If November then had a total of three school weeks, and the student logged a total of four hours, the average time would be 1.3 hours per week for the month.

Last updated: 8/16/2012

Relevant Forms or Samples

None.