Laramie County School District #2 trustees on Jan. 8 discussed State Board changes to Chapter 22 rules for alternative school calendars and agreed to begin defining performance metrics to evaluate the district’s four‑day week.

Justin Perintoni, district staff member, summarized the revisions and said the Chapter 22 change moves the application deadline to April and allows approval for up to five years. “You can apply now instead of doing it for 2 years, we can do it for 5,” he said.

Perintoni said a key regulatory change removes the earlier requirement that districts report how the alternative schedule achieved stated objectives and replaces it with a requirement to “submit evidence that it evaluated the alternative schedule’s effectiveness in light of trends in student learning.” He asked the board to decide what metrics the district will use to meet that requirement and to prepare by the April submission deadline.

Why it matters: The district operates a four‑day week (adopted in 2015–16). The revised Chapter 22 language shifts evaluation toward measurable student learning trends rather than simply documenting objectives, which will require a different set of data and agreed metrics.

Discussion points included historical rationale for the four‑day week (teacher professional development, athletic scheduling and other local reasons), the district’s prior community survey results (a referenced earlier survey showed about 96% patron approval), and practical steps for calendar committee work. Perintoni urged the board and the calendar committee to determine metrics now rather than later: “It is much easier to decide now what the metric, what the measurement would be, than it is to wait until you get there and then try to pick one.”

Perintoni said the district will likely apply to continue its alternative schedule and that the board should plan discussion in the next month so a submission can be made by the April deadline.

Ending: Trustees asked staff to publish a patron survey and produce recommendations to the calendar committee on measurable indicators for student learning to include in the April application.