Section Ed 401.03 - School Year(a) Each nonpublic school shall maintain a school year consisting of the following number of hours of instructional time: (1) In kindergarten, at least 450 hours;(2) In grades one through 6, at least 945 hours; and(3) In grades 7 through 12, at least 990 hours.(b) Each school shall have in its school year an additional 30 hours in duration to provide for instructional time lost due to inclement weather or unexpected circumstances, and shall use these additional hours to reschedule lost instructional time before requesting a reduction of the amount of instructional time as outlined in (h) below.(c) A school may have a shortened day when an emergency condition exists which might adversely affect the health and safety of students, provided that the number of hours of instructional time originally planned for the day shall be credited to the number of hours of instructional time in the school year, if: (1) On that day, the school would normally have had at least 5.25 hours of instructional time; and(2) The school remained open for at least 3.5 hours of instructional time.(d) There shall be no requirement to reschedule instructional time for kindergarten if morning or afternoon kindergarten sessions are canceled due to delayed opening or early release for students in grade one or higher.(e) A school may conduct instruction remotely. The school shall create a plan that includes procedures for participation by all students. Academic work shall be equivalent in effort and rigor to typical classroom work, and include an assessment of all student work for the day.(f) Lunch time, home room periods, passing time, and breaks shall not be counted toward the required amount of instructional time. Elementary schools may count up to 30 minutes of recess per day as instructional time for pupils in kindergarten through grade 6. Advisory periods in middle and high schools shall be counted as instructional time.(g) The school year for high school seniors may be reduced by no more than 5 days or 30 hours of instruction, whichever is less, from the number of days or hours of instruction for other high school students.(h) Pursuant to RSA 189:2, the required minimum hours of instruction shall be reduced upon written request of the school and a determination by the commissioner, as authorized by the state board, that extraordinary circumstances exist that would place an unreasonable burden on the school or students.N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 401.03
#2055, eff 6-16-82; ss by #2714, eff 5-16-84; ss by #4372, eff 2-24-88; ss by #4961, eff 10-26-90; EXPIRED 10-26-96
New. #6366, eff 10-30-96; amd by #7480, eff 4-24-01; ss by #8263, eff 1-22-05; ss by #10360, eff 6-15-13
Amended by Volume XL Number 19, Filed May 7, 2020, Proposed by #13024, EMERGENCY RULE, Effective 4/9/2020, Expires 10/6/2020.Amended by Number 6, Filed February 8, 2024, Proposed by #13853, Effective 1/12/2024, Expires 1/12/2034 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for Ed 400).