Knox County students and parents have a better idea of when the last day of school will be following action taken by the Governor on Monday.
Governor Steve Beshear signed HB 211 on Monday, March 31, to implement emergency provisions related to school calendars.
This legislation boils down the myriad of calendar requirements to just one for 2013-14 – each school district must achieve a minimum of 1,062 instructional hours. Several districts, including Knox, have missed in excess of twenty instructional days during the 2013-2014 due to weather. Current count for Knox County is 26 days.
Pending Board and Kentucky Department of Education approval, the last day for Knox County students is June 6, according to Frank Shelton, public information officer for the district.
“In House Bill 211, June 6 was established as the relief point for districts that are challenged to meet the 1,062 instructional hour requirement. Luckily for Knox, we will have met that requirement and are setting our last day for that Friday,” said Shelton.
Currently all Knox County schools document a minimum of 390 instructional minutes per day, which already has allowed for extended time to be banked for use. Knox County has already amended the school calendar once this year to remove the tentative spring break and a professional development day that was scheduled for March 21.
HB 211 does not offer relief to teachers and school staff however. All employees must fulfill their contractual days with the school district.
“Our leadership team is allowing building level principals and supervisors to develop a plan for staff as they work towards completing their required time for this year,” said Shelton.
Graduations for Knox County’s high schools have also been set now that legislation has passed. Lynn Camp will hold commencement exercises on Friday, June 6, at 7pm and Knox Central will hold commencement exercises on Saturday, June 7, at 2pm.