Woodland Hills update: district has used five state-approved flexible instruction days; Act 56 hours will govern makeup options

Dr. Eddie Wilson, Woodland Hills School District director of curriculum and instruction, told the board Jan. 22 that the district has used its five state-approved flexible instruction days and is relying on the hours option established by the state’s recent law, Act 56.

“Flexible instruction days are days that the state said that districts could apply for beginning in the year after following COVID,” Wilson said. “Our plan was only approved if it had synchronous instruction and teachers taking attendance based on who is online with synchronous instruction.”

Why it matters: Act 56, enacted by the state in December 2023, changed the school-code requirements so districts may meet the year either by 180 days of student attendance or by required instructional hours (900 hours for primary/k–6 buildings and 990 hours for secondary/grades 7–12). That gives Woodland Hills alternate ways to make up lost time after recent weather closures.

Wilson summarized the district’s calendar and how recent closures have affected it. The current Woodland Hills calendar (Aug. 20, 2024–June 4, 2025) included 178 in‑building instructional days for the school with the shortest schedule and two Act 80 parent‑teacher conference days; at the start of the year the district scheduled at least 1,009 instructional hours in each building. Wilson said Edgewood Elementary used virtual instruction Oct. 31–Nov. 1 after a gas leak; that virtual day initially counted against the district’s five FIDs but the state approved a superintendent’s waiver that restored that FID to the district.

“As of today . . . we have used now five FIDs in the district,” Wilson said, listing Sept. 9 (swatting), Nov. 5 (election), the first day back from break, Jan. 16 and Jan. 22 as the five dates the district designated for flexible instruction. He also noted the district took a snow day Jan. 21 because of negative wind chills.

Wilson spelled out how the district’s counts now break down: Edgewood, after the waiver, stands at 178 days of in‑building instruction and meets the 900‑hour elementary threshold; other buildings are at 179 days. Using hours rather than days, Wilson said Dixon is at about 999 hours and 18 minutes, “so we’re still nine hours and change over the required amount of hours by the state.” He warned that each missed school day reduces Dixon by about five hours and 42 minutes of instructional time.

The presentation listed three principal options the board could consider if the district needs to recover more time: (1) keep the current schedule and rely on remaining hours (if any) to meet the statute; (2) schedule additional partial instructional days (for example, require students to attend for limited hours on two in‑service days to reach 180 days); or (3) recover hours by eliminating planned early dismissals (Wilson cited April 16 and June 4 as current early dismissals that could be adjusted to gain roughly six hours).

Wilson also noted the district could seek additional statewide relief if the Department of Education chooses to grant waivers broadly, but he said such action would likely take weeks and is not certain. He told the board he would post the presentation and the district would update the public if further delays change the calculations.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the waiver process and whether the state might grant additional relief. “There is that possibility,” said a board member, and Wilson said the state tends to move slowly on such decisions.

The presentation did not include a formal board decision; Wilson asked the board to consider the options if further inclement weather requires the district to choose how to restore days or hours.

Ending: Wilson said he would work with district staff to post the slides and update the community as circumstances change.