As your district develops the school calendar for the 1999-2000 school year, please be advised that the following schedule must be incorporated:
1. The five required professional development days for certified staff must total at least 30 hours.
2. Professional development can only include those activities that directly relate to the improvement of student instruction. Activities such as staff meetings for general operational matters, time for teachers to work in their rooms, or any other activity that has no direct implication for improved student achievement cannot be counted. Of course, any time scheduled for these events outside the required 30 hours would be acceptable.
The State Board of Education, at its March 7, 1999 meeting, will consider whether to continue the practice of granting waivers from student interaction days for additional professional development beyond the five required above. The Board will also consider adopting the recommendations of the Teacher Licensure and Professional Development committees to increase the number of required hours for such training to 60 annually.