19.0803.01000
Sixty-sixth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1249
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Owens, D. Johnson, Pyle, Schreiber-Beck, Zubke
Senators Kreun, Rust
1 A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 15.1-06-04 and 15.1-07-34 of the North
2 Dakota Century Code, relating to increasing teacher professional development days and
3 requirements.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
5 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 15.1-06-04 of the North Dakota Century Code is
6 amended and reenacted as follows:
7 15.1-06-04. School calendar - Length.
8 1. A school district shall provide for a school calendar that includes:
9 a. At least one hundred seventy-five days of instruction;
10 b. Three holidays, as selected by the board in consultation with district teachers
11 from the list provided for in subdivisions b through j of subsection 1 of section
12 15.1-06-02;
13 c. No more than two days for:
14 (1) Parent-teacher conferences; or
15 (2) Compensatory time for parent-teacher conferences held outside of regular
16 school hours; and
17 d. At least twothree days of professional development.
18 2. a. A day of professional development must consist of:
19 (1) Six hours of professional development, exclusive of meals and other breaks,
20 conducted within a single day;
21 (2) Six hours of cumulative professional development conducted under the
22 auspices of a professional learning community; or
23 (3) Two four-hour periods of professional development, exclusive of meals and
24 other breaks, conducted over two days.
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1 b. If a school district offers a four-hour period of professional development, as
2 permitted in this subsection, the school district may schedule instruction during
3 other available hours on that same day and be credited with providing one-half
4 day of instruction to students. This subdivision does not apply unless the one-half
5 day of instruction equals at least one-half of the time required for a full day of
6 instruction, as defined in this section.
7 3. If because of weather a school must dismiss before completing a full day of
8 instruction, the school is responsible for making up only those hours and portions of an
9 hour between the time of early dismissal and the conclusion of a full day of classroom
10 instruction.
11 4. For purposes of this section, a full day of instruction consists of:
12 a. At least five and one-half hours for kindergarten and elementary students, during
13 which time the students are required to be in attendance for the purpose of
14 receiving curricular instruction; and
15 b. At least six hours for high school students, during which time the students are
16 required to be in attendance for the purpose of receiving curricular instruction.
17 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 15.1-07-34 of the North Dakota Century Code is
18 amended and reenacted as follows:
19 15.1-07-34. Provision of youth behavioral health training to teachers, administrators,
20 and ancillary staff.
21 1. Every two years, each school district shall provide a minimum of eightsixteen hours of
22 professional development on youth behavioral health to elementary, middle, and high
23 school teachers, and administrators. Each school district shall encourage ancillary and
24 support staff to participate in the professional development. Based on the annual
25 needs assessment of the school district, these hours must be designated from the
26 following categories:
27 a. Trauma;
28 b. Social and emotional learning, including resiliency;
29 c. Suicide prevention;
30 d. Bullying;
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Legislative Assembly
1 e. Understanding of the prevalence and impact of youth behavioral health wellness
2 on family structure, education, juvenile services, law enforcement, and health
3 care and treatment providers;
4 f. Knowledge of behavioral health symptoms, and risks;
5 g. Awareness of referral sources and evidence-based strategies for appropriate
6 interventions; or
7 h. Other evidence-based strategies to reduce risk factors for students; or
8 i. Mitigation techniques.
9 2. Each school district shall report the professional development hours to the department
10 of public instruction.
11 3. The superintendent of public instruction shall collaborate with regional education
12 associations to disseminate information, training materials, and notice of training
13 opportunities to school districts and nonpublic schools.
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Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 15.1-06-04, 15.1-07-34
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 15.1-06-04, 15.1-07-34
SECOND ENGROSSMENT: 15.1-07-34