NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) — Many school districts are looking to adopt alternative calendars to make up for the days missed due to recent snow and ice.
Arkansas law and the LEARNS Act require students to attend school for 178 days or the equivalent of 1,068 hours of instruction.
Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva and his team are allowing school districts to pivot, and go to an hourly calendar to be able to meet these requirements this school year.
While Oliva says districts can utilize AMI days as a last resort, they don’t count toward the days or hours of in-person learning required.
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“We have students that have substantial reading deficiencies that need systematic, explicit instruction directed by a teacher. To say they’re sending them home with a worksheet or getting on a Zoom call for an hour is equivalent to a full day of instruction is ridiculous,” said Oliva.
Oliva says his priorities during this time are keeping students safe and making sure he can give the districts the assistance and support they need.