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Committee refines school-calendar language to cite Idaho statute and avoid mandating 22 hours of in‑service time
Summary
The committee revised draft language about the school calendar and instructional hours so the policy cites Idaho statute for minimum instructional hours and avoids binding the district to provide a fixed 22 hours of teacher in‑service time, and asked staff to have counsel review the updated wording.
The Lakeland Joint School District 272 policy committee discussed the district’s draft school‑year calendar policy and agreed to reword the instructional-hours section so it cites Idaho statute for the minimum annual instructional hours and does not obligate the district to provide a fixed 22 hours of teacher in‑service time.
The draft states the district fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30 and lists holidays and commemorative days. Committee members noted that instructional-hour and in‑service rules are set by Idaho statute and that state law has changed periodically; one member advised citing the statute rather than including a numeric “22 hours” figure in the policy text to avoid tying the policy to a statutory number that could change.
A staff suggestion that became committee language reads in substance: the district “shall meet the state mandated instructional hours requirement, which may include the allotted hours of teacher in‑service activities pursuant to Idaho code.” One participant recommended removing the word “mandated” when it referred to in‑service hours (which are not required) and keeping the mandate only for the student instructional‑hour requirement.
Committee members also talked about Veterans Day and commemorative-day instruction; a committee member noted that Veterans Day is observed on Nov. 11 and that many districts hold classroom programs to honor veterans even when the date falls on a weekend. The committee asked staff to have Rusty review the revised calendar language and statutory citation (Idaho code 33‑512 or related citations were discussed) before presenting the policy to the board.
Direction: staff was asked to update the calendar policy language to cite the applicable Idaho code for instructional hours, to avoid specifying a fixed 22 hours of in‑service time in the policy text, and to route the revised language to legal counsel prior to Board consideration.
