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Bethany board approves switch from days to hours after state changes recess counting
Summary
Trustees moved to convert the district calendar from days to hours for 2026–27 after discussion about new state rules that add recess minutes for K–5 and count only half toward instructional time, reducing available snow-day credit.
The Bethany Public Schools Board voted to change the district’s academic calendar measurement from days to hours for fiscal year 2026–27, a step administrators said is common among districts and gives flexibility to meet instructional-time requirements.
Administrators explained the change is timely because recent legislation added 20 minutes of required recess for kindergarten through fifth grade while the State is counting only 20 of the required 40 minutes as instructional time. That treatment reduces the district’s effective snow-day buffer at the elementary level to roughly 3.5 days, administrators said, and limits the district’s ability to use virtual days except during a declared state emergency.
Board members discussed trade-offs about instructional minutes and schedule adjustments and approved the conversion to hours per HB1864 and SB441 for FY27.
