A. A school district or charter school may apply to participate in the K-5 plus program and is eligible to receive program units for students enrolled in elementary schools approved by the department to participate in the K-5 plus program. In approving schools for participation in K-5 plus, the department shall prioritize elementary schools:
(1) in which eighty percent or more of the elementary school's students are eligible for free or reduced-fee lunch;
(2) that are low-performing elementary schools; and
(3) that meet criteria established by department rule.
B. Each K-5 plus school shall:
(1) except as provided in Subsection C of this section, provide no fewer than two hundred five instructional days per school year or twenty-five additional instructional days per school year, whichever requires the addition of the fewest number of instructional days, to all elementary school students enrolled in the elementary school;
(2) provide a good-faith attempt to keep students with the same teacher and cohort of students during K-5 plus and the regular school year and minimize mid-year transfers to only those transfers that are in the best interest of the student;
(3) include additional professional development for teachers teaching at a K-5 plus school in how young children learn to read; and
(4) be considered an extended school calendar for all students in each participating school.
C. An elementary school operating a four-day school week shall provide no fewer than one hundred seventy-five instructional days per school year or twenty additional instructional days per school year, whichever requires the addition of the fewest number of instructional days to all elementary students enrolled in the elementary school.
D. A school district or charter school that qualified for K-5 plus program units in the prior fiscal year shall not be required to add more instructional days to the current school year to qualify for program units in the current school year if the school district or charter school provides the same or more total instructional days and total instructional hours than it provided in the prior school year.
E. An elementary school is ineligible for K-5 plus program units if it fails to meet the requirements of this section.
History: Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 3; 2019, ch. 207, § 3; 2021, ch. 134, § 3.
The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, changed K-5 plus programs to K-5 plus schools, required K-5 plus schools to add instructional days to the calendar, and provided an exception for certain school districts or charter schools that qualified for K-5 plus program units in the prior fiscal year; in Subsection A, deleted former Paragraph A(3) and redesignated former Paragraph A(4) as Paragraph A(3); in Subsection B, in the introductory clause, changed "program" to "school", in Paragraph B(1), added "except as provided in Subsection C of this section", after "no fewer than", added "two hundred five instructional days per school year or", and after "twenty-five additional instructional days", deleted "prior to the start of the regular school year" and added "per school year, whichever requires the addition of the fewest number of instructional days, to all elementary school students enrolled in the elementary school", in Paragraph B(2), added "provide a good-faith attempt to", after "keep students", deleted "that participate in the K-5 plus program", after "during", added "K-5 plus and", and after "regular school year", added "and minimize mid-year transfers to only those transfers that are in the best interest of the student", in Paragraph B(3), after "development for", added "teachers teaching at a", and after "K-5 plus", changed "teachers" to "school", and in Paragraph B(4), after "be", deleted "implemented school-wide" and added "considered an extended school calendar for all students in each participating school"; added new Subsections C and D and redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection E; and in Subsection E, after "requirements of", deleted "Subsection B of".
Applicability. — Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 29 and Laws 2019, ch. 207, § 29, provided that the provisions of §§ 2 through 19 apply to the program cost calculation in fiscal year 2020 and subsequent fiscal years.