At its April 14, 2003 meeting, the State Board of Education (Board) voted to deny a general waiver to all school districts from making up days missed due to inclement weather in December, January, February, and March. 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 2001 decision communicated in Director’s Memo DIR-01-014 to respond to individual district appeals. A favorable response would depend on the district’s 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 that 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 days missed must submit a request to the Board on the attached form. This form can be faxed or mailed to the Department of Education. It should be accompanied by the district’s 2002-03 calendar and a copy of the district’s inclement weather policy. 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 meet the attendance requirements.
All such requests, submitted on the attached form, should be received at the Arkansas Department of Education no later than Thursday, April 24, 2003, and 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. Proposed closing date of school, and
6. Superintendent’s signature.
This correspondence should be addressed to:
State Board of Education FAX: 501-682-7966
#4 State Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201
Attn: Dr. Charity Smith