Section Ed 306.18 - School Year(a) Pursuant to RSA 189:1 and RSA 189:24, each school district shall maintain a school year as provided below: (1) The school district shall maintain in each elementary school, a school year of at least 945 hours of instructional time and in each kindergarten at least 450 hours of instructional time;(2) The school district shall maintain in each middle and high school, a school year of at least 990 hours of instructional time. Districts shall provide at least 990 hours of instructional time for grades 7 and 8 in elementary schools that include grades 7, or 8, or both;(3) The instructional school day of an individual student shall not exceed 5.75 hours of instructional time in elementary schools and 6 hours of instructional time in middle and high schools;(4) The school shall have in its school year an additional 60 hours in duration to provide for instructional time lost due to inclement weather or unexpected circumstances, staff development, and parent-teacher conferences. At least 30 of the 60 additional hours shall be available for rescheduling hours lost due to inclement weather or other emergencies. Schools shall use these additional hours to reschedule lost instructional time before requesting a waiver of the amount of instructional time under RSA 189:2, unless extraordinary circumstances exist that would place an unreasonable burden on the school or students such as, but not limited to, substantial building damage;(5) A school may have a shortened day when an emergency condition exists which might adversely affect the health and safety of students, provided that the number of hours of instructional time originally planned for the day shall be credited to the number of hours of instructional time in the school year, if: a. On that day, the school would normally have had at least 5.25 hours of instructional time; andb. The school remained open for at least 3.5 hours of instructional time;(6) There shall be no requirement to reschedule instructional time for kindergarten if morning or afternoon kindergarten sessions are cancelled due to delayed opening or early release for students in grade 1 or higher; and(7) Distance education conducted in accordance with Ed 306.22(c) shall count toward the required amount of instructional time.(b) Lunch time, home room periods, passing time, and breaks shall not be counted toward the required amount of instructional time. Elementary schools may count up to 30 minutes of recess per day as instructional time for pupils in kindergarten through grade 6. Advisory periods in middle and high schools shall be counted as instructional time.(c) The high school graduation date shall be set no more than 5 school days or 30 instructional hours before the end of the scheduled school year without consideration of making up lost time pursuant to Ed 306.18(a)(4).N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 306.18
#5546, eff 7-1-93; ss by #6366, eff 10-30-96, EXPIRED: 10-30-04; New. #8206, INTERIM, eff 11-18-04, EXPIRED: 5-17-05; New. #8354, eff 7-1-05; ss by #10047, eff 12-17-11.Amended by Volume XXXIV Number 16, Filed April 17, 2014, Proposed by #10556, Effective 3/27/2014, Expires3/27/2024.Amended byVolume XXXIX Number 28, Filed July 11, 2019, Proposed by #12814, Effective 6/15/2019, Expires 6/15/2029.Amended by Volume XL Number 15, Filed April 9, 2020, Proposed by #13001, Effective 3/12/2020, Expires 9/8/2020.Amended by Volume XLI Number 36, Filed September 9, 2021, Proposed by #13245, Effective 7/29/2021, Expires 7/29/2031Amended by Volume XLII Number 14, Filed April 7, 2022, Proposed by #13356, Effective 3/23/2022, Expires 3/23/2032 (See Revision Note #3 at part heading for Ed 306)