The bill aims to provide relief to Ashtabula Lakeside High School by waiving the required minimum instructional hours for the 2024-2025 school year due to significant disruptions caused by severe winter weather. The Governor's declaration of a state of emergency and the local sheriff's multiple Level Three Snow Emergencies resulted in unusable residential roads, shutdown of essential services, and damage to school facilities, including the collapse of the high school's roof. In response, the Department of Education and Workforce is instructed to grant flexibility in diploma requirements for twelfth-grade students based on their demonstration of subject area competency, rather than solely on classroom hours.

Additionally, the bill allows for the waiver of up to twenty-four hours of the minimum instructional time required for the school to be eligible for state funding. This emergency measure is deemed necessary to ensure that affected seniors can graduate on time and that the Ashtabula City School District can maintain its state funding amidst the challenges posed by the weather-related closures. The act is set to take immediate effect to address these urgent needs.