On Feb. 25, the School Board approved changing Friday, April 19 to a student contact day for all students. In addition, it approved additional makeup time for seniors on Monday, June 3 and Tuesday, June 4. The original 2018-19 school year calendar had the last day for seniors as Friday, May 31.

The district experienced six school closings between Nov. 21 and Feb. 22. As a result, SSP students in grades K-11 were under the required number of student contact hours and thus needing to make up additional time. In addition, because of the early school year completion for seniors, they would have even fewer student contact hours and thus need to make up the time an additional two days on June 3 and 4. 

In addition to not meeting required student hours, the district believes strongly that the makeup days are needed for all students on Feb. 13 and April 19 in order to make up lost learning time. Similarly, the additional lost time for seniors with the six school cancellations is compounded with grade 12 students finishing the year four days before their peers. 

Furthermore, while the recently approved Snow Day Relief Bill provides flexibility for districts in meeting state required student hours, accessing this provision is not available for only one grade level in a district. As such, SSP Schools is continuing with its agreement to maintain a minimum number of student contact hours for all grade levels, including grade 12. Thus, as previously approved, seniors are still required to make up lost learning time at the end of the year.

• The last day for seniors is now Tuesday, June 4.
• The last day for K-11 students remains Thursday, June 6.

On April 1, 2019, Gov. Walz signed the "Snow Day Relief Bill." The bipartisan compromise approved by both the House and Senate on March 28 gives school districts more flexibility for making up all the days they canceled this winter due to bitter cold and heavy snow. Minnesota normally requires public schools to hold 165 days of classes per academic year, or they could lose state aid. The bill lets districts off the hook for this year only.

As makeup days were already held (Feb. 13) and scheduled (April 19) as makeup days, the district opted to continue as planned. While the new legislation does provide relief from required student contact hours, the district has concerns about the significant amount of lost learning time due to the six school cancellations in 2018-19. 

"Essentially we are talking about over a week of lost learning and instructional time for South St. Paul students," said Superintendent Dave Webb. "We can understand a couple of days, but losing over a week of class time with kids is significant. And we believe strongly in providing the maximum amount of learning time for kids so that they are best prepared to achieve and thrive."

No. The district plans to take advantage of the new flexibilities available to schools with the recent approval of the Snow Day Relief Bill. As such, South St. Paul Public Schools is counting April 11 as an instructional day, and therefore will not require an additional makeup day for students. 

First and foremost, the decision to makeup a student contact day is about recovering critical lost learning time for our SSP students. So far this year, the district has canceled school six days, and delayed the start of school twice, resulting in more than 6.5 days of lost learning time for students. In addition, the district now falls below the minimum number of student contact hours required by the state.

On Jan. 31, the local media widely reported that Gov. Walz said he did not want to penalize districts for erring on the side of student safety and canceling school due to extreme cold. SSP leadership appreciates the Governor’s support of local district decisions. However, since that time it has been made clear that authority for such decisions actually resides with the Legislature as the requirements about student contact hours are in state statute. As such, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) sent districts additional guidance on what happens when a district falls below state minimum requirements for student contact time.  

Specifically, this communication addressed concerns about financial penalties if a district cancels school. According to MDE, “There is no financial penalty for having too few days or too few instructional hours. Statute does not provide a penalty for not meeting these requirements. However, students whose average daily membership (ADM) is based on a statute-defined number of hours will generate fewer membership hours if the canceled instruction is not rescheduled.” As state aid is determined by the number of ADMs a district generates, a decrease in ADMs could result in decreased revenue for SSP Schools.

While the district has no control over the weather, it is in the process of creating plans for digital learning days that would not count against the district for student contact hours and is advocating with our state representatives for more local control.

Digital Learning Day Plans

Effective with fiscal year 2018, the state has allowed districts to adopt e-learning plans that provide up to five digital or e-learning days due to inclement weather. Digital or e-learning days are defined as instructional days on which no students in the school attend at the school site but all students are required to participate in instruction online. Requirements of the plan include consultation with the teachers, accommodations for students who lack access to internet at home or digital devices, and accessible options for students with disabilities. The district must notify families and students of the potential for e-learning days at the beginning of the school year, and at least a two-hour notice before the school start time that students will follow the e-learning day plan on a scheduled instructional day. Each student's teacher must be accessible both online and by telephone during normal school hours on an e-learning day to assist students and parents.

SSP Schools is in the process of developing such e-learning plans and intends to present them to the School Board later this spring. Once approved, these plans would be effective starting with the 2019-20 school year. Due to submission and reporting requirements, such plans are not accessible for SSP Schools for the current school year.

Legislative Advocacy

As we do annually, the district creates a legislative platform for which we advocate with our local representatives about changes at the state level that would positively impact SSP Schools. This year, in addition to again advocating for referendum equalization and special education cross-subsidy relief, which would significantly improve state funding for SSP, we are also asking for more local control and relief from state policy mandates such as minimum student contact hours.

Specifically, the district is in favor of:  

1. A special waiver for districts for the 2018-19 school year due to extreme weather conditions. This waiver would release back to local districts the ability to articulate student contact hours based on individual student learning needs.
2. Expansion of the state’s innovation zone law to include opportunities for local school districts to view student contact time as a variable that should align with individual learning needs, rather than as a constant to which learning and districts must adhere. By focusing on learning as the constant and resources such as time as a variable, districts will come to see time as flexible and adaptable to better meet the individual needs of the learners in their care.

According to state required student contact hours and District Policy 307, school closing days of four days or more in one school year may result in a make-up day.

At a special meeting on Feb. 8, the School Board approved changing the previously scheduled non-student day on Friday, Feb. 15 to a regular student day for PreK-12.

As a result of the Feb. 20 school closure, the School Board is being asked to approve another student makeup day, changing Friday, April 19 from parent-teacher conferences/professional day to a regular student contact day for PreK-12.

According to MN Statute 120A.41, districts must include a minimum number of instructional hours depending on the age of the student:

• All-day Kindergarten = 850 hours
• Grades 1-6 = 935 hours
• Grades 7-12 = 1,020 hours

As of Feb. 20, 2019, the district has canceled school six days, and delayed the start of school by two hours twice.

* Originally, the last day for grade 12 was scheduled to be May 31, 2019. As a result of the number of school closings this school year, seniors would fall below the minimum number of hours required. Students in grade 12 will now attend June 3 and 4, 2019, in addition to the recommended Feb. 15, 2019 student contact day in order to meet state requirements.

** NOTE: Late starts, such as the 2-hour delays called on Feb. 4 and Feb. 8, do not factor into lost student contact hours according to state requirements. They do, however, factor into lost learning time.  

When the district was getting close to reaching the threshold to where it would need to identify makeup days, district leadership began evaluating options. On the afternoon of Jan. 31, 2019, a communication was sent to all staff and families and posted on the district’s website and social media channels about the recommendation to change Feb. 15 to a student day. While not formally approved by the School Board at this time, the district wanted to make sure that families had as much notice of the change as possible. Additionally, this communication was repeated in school and district newsletters on Feb. 7 and 8 and plans are in place to push out a direct communication to families following action by the School Board at a special meeting on Friday, Feb. 8.   

When the district was getting close to reaching the threshold to where it would need to identify makeup days, district leadership began evaluating options. On the afternoon of Jan. 31, 2019, a communication was sent to all staff and families and posted on the district’s website and social media channels about the recommendation to change Feb. 15 to a student day. At that time, additional dates were considered should the other cancellations occur. On Feb. 25, the School Board approved changing April 19 to a student day. 

District leadership looked at all available non-student dates through mid-June as possible makeup dates. A number of factors played into the decision to recommend Friday, Feb. 15 as the makeup day.

1. Recapture lost learning time as soon as possible
2. Align with employee contractual agreements
3. Identify additional makeup dates later in the calendar given that there remain several weeks left of potential winter weather closings.

As such, the district considered changing other existing professional days on March 7 or 8 and April 19 to student contact days. Per the factors noted above, these dates are being held in reserve should additional cancellations occur yet this year.  In addition, the district considered adding a day at the end of the school year after the scheduled last day on June 6. Due to scheduling conflicts with district facilities on the evening of June 6 (e.g., Graduation, other commencement activities), it was decided that adding June 7 as a student contact day was the least viable option at this time.  

Thus, the district’s leadership recommended changing Feb. 15 to a student contact days.

ADDITION: At the time of the decision to change Feb. 15 to a student contact day, the administration began discussing the possibility of additional makeup days. As such, with the Feb. 20 school closure, it was determined that the next best option would be to change Friday, April 19 to a student contact day. The district has been exploring alternative ways to offer parent-teacher conferences for some time, and this need for an additional makeup day provides an opportunity for the Secondary School to move ahead with trying a new format. The hope is that a fresh approach to conferences will help enhance school-to-home connections and improve student outcomes. Plans are still under review, but once finalized, the district will communicate the change for third trimester conferences to all staff and families. 

As noted above, SSP schools only faces a financial impact if its annual student hours fall below state minimums. With the fifth cancellation of the school year on Jan. 31, the district falls below that threshold and thus faces fewer membership hours on which state aid is calculated. (Note that the district does not face lost revenue for 2-hour delays, only with full-day cancellations).

Potentially, if student hours are not recaptured, the district could lose significant revenue, including money that it currently uses for targeted service and interventions (e.g. Learning Academy, credit recovery, summer school, etc.). On average, the district generates between $250,000 and $500,000 annually in these “extended time” revenue dollars. While it is unclear just how a potential legislative waiver or change to current law will impact state aid, any such change or waiver requires action at the Legislature, which if enacted, will take time to work through the legislative process.