West Virginia SB890: Changing certain school calendar requirements from days or months to hours

What the bill says

An act to amend and reenact §18-5-45 and §18-28-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the school calendar; defining employment term and instructional term; prohibiting a teacher from being required to use school preparation days for any other purpose besides the preparation for the opening of school or for school closing; requiring noninstructional days to include three Educator Focus Days to be used as determined by classroom teachers for activities that will improve instruction; requiring faculty senate meetings to occur on Educator Focus Days; providing a schedule fo.

From the enrolled text, March 14, 2026:

AN ACT to amend and reenact §18-5-45 and §18-28-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the school calendar; defining employment term and instructional term; prohibiting a teacher from being required to use school preparation days for any other purpose besides the preparation for the opening of school or for school closing; requiring noninstructional days to include three Educator Focus Days to be used as determined by classroom teachers for activities that will improve instruction; requiring faculty senate meetings to occur on Educator Focus Days; providing a schedule for these days to be used during the instructional term; reducing the number of days to be used as designated by the county board; changing minimum public school 180-instructional day requirement to a minimum 900-instructional hour requirement; allowing state board rule to clarify certain school calendar requirements and address any unforeseen issues that might arise from changing from an instructional day requirement to an instructional hour requirement; providing that nothing in this section as amended during the 2026 regular session of the Legislature is intended to adversely modify any existing employment contracts or retirement benefits for county personnel; and allowing nonpublic schools to deliver instruction through alternative methods that count toward up to 25 hours of instructional time when schools are closed due to inclement weather or other …

Read the full official text