At its March 12, 2001 meeting, the State Board of Education (Board) voted to deny a general waiver for all school districts from making up days missed due to inclement weather in December and January. In adopting this position, the Board confirmed its resolve that each school district should make a genuine effort to meet the minimum number of student/teacher interaction days as required in the Standards for Accreditation.
The Board affirmed its previous precedent to respond to individual district appeals when the district has acted with good intent to make up as many days as possible. It is the Board’s desire that districts make every effort to reduce the number of lost days by requiring student attendance on days previously designated as student holidays, and holding Saturday classes, or extending the school year. State law provides that school districts may use Memorial Day as a make-up day when more than five (5) scheduled days have been lost due to “contagious disease outbreaks, inclement weather, or other acts of God.”
School district officials desiring to request a waiver for any or all days missed must submit a request to the Board, using the format below. This must be done, even if the district has previously sent a request for such a waiver. The Board will consider any extraordinary circumstances, weighing heavily the actions proposed by the district to help meet the attendance requirements.
All such requests should be received at the Arkansas Department of Education no later than Monday, March 26, 2001. Request for Waiver from Student-Teacher Interaction Days must include:
1. District name
2. Total number of days missed due to inclement weather or related circumstances
3. Total days the district proposes to make-up and the timing of such (spring break, Saturdays, Memorial Day, extension of school year, etc.)
4. Total days remaining that are requested to be waived and reason for request
5. Superintendent’s signature.
This correspondence should be addressed to:
State Board of Education
#4 State Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201
Attn: Dr. Charity Smith