| Summary |
The bill clarifies what constitutes an abbreviated school day and
describes the effects of placing children with disabilities on abbreviated
school day schedules (abbreviated schedule).
The bill requires the department of education (department) to
create and implement a policy that explains the:
•
Definition of an abbreviated school day;
•
Circumstances in which abbreviated schedules are
permissible and impermissible;
•
Roles of the teams who determine whether to assign
children with disabilities to abbreviated schedules;
•
Notice requirements that children with disabilities must not
be excluded from field trips, school functions, and
extracurricular activities due to abbreviated schedules;
•
Documentation and maintenance of records relating to
children with disabilities' abbreviated schedules;
•
Review of abbreviated schedules on a regular basis by the
teams who determine whether to assign children with
disabilities to abbreviated schedules;
•
Information that parents, legal guardians, or custodians of
children with disabilities (parents) must receive regarding
whether parents may consent to, revoke consent to, or
oppose abbreviated schedules; and
•
Procedural safeguard information distributed to parents
prior to meetings in which abbreviated schedules are
discussed.
Each administrative unit shall adopt the department's policy.
The department shall provide annual training and ongoing
technical assistance to administrative units.
On or before July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter,
administrative units shall submit a report to the department summarizing:
•
The number of children with disabilities who were placed
on abbreviated schedules during the preceding school year;
•
The number of days each child with disabilities was placed
on an abbreviated schedule;
•
The student demographic information for each child with
disabilities placed on an abbreviated school day schedule,
including race, gender, English language learner status, and
whether the child has a disability pursuant to federal law,
to the extent possible while maintaining student privacy;
and
•
The student demographic data collected, disaggregated by
race, gender, English language learner status, and disability
status pursuant to federal law, to the extent possible while
maintaining student privacy.
The bill requires the department to post the reports to the
department's website on an annual basis.
Beginning in January 2027, and in January every year thereafter,
the department shall include as part of its presentation during its
SMART Act hearing information concerning abbreviated schedules.
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