The bill amends Arkansas Code 6-10-127 to establish new requirements for public school districts regarding the makeup of missed school days due to exceptional or emergency circumstances. It allows superintendents to add a minimum of sixty minutes to the beginning or end of a regular school day to compensate for missed days. Additionally, each public school district is mandated to include an extra five days or the hourly equivalent in their annual school calendar specifically for making up missed days. These additional days must be utilized before any further student attendance days can be granted by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Furthermore, the bill outlines that if a public school district is closed for more than ten student attendance days due to exceptional or emergency circumstances, they must either make up each missed day or apply for additional attendance days if they have an approved alternative instruction plan. The definition of "exceptional or emergency circumstance" is expanded to include various unforeseen events, such as utility outages and active shooter threats. The bill also modifies the eligibility criteria for state funds related to teacher salary increases, ensuring that days or hours made up through alternative instruction methods count towards the required instructional days or hours.

Statutes affected:
Old version HB1370 V2 - 3-3-2025 10:22 AM: 6-10-127, 03-03-2025, 6-16-102, 6-17-2403(c)
Old version HB1370 Original - 2-3-2025 11:35 AM: 6-10-127, 6-16-102, 6-17-2403(c)
HB 1370: 6-10-127, 6-16-102, 6-17-2403(c)