Friday, March 14, 2014

Snow day waiver bill clears House, 82-8

KENTUCKY LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH COMMISSION
School districts would be allowed to excuse up to 10 instructional days missed this school year under legislation that today passed the Kentucky House.
 
House Bill 410, sponsored by Rep. John Will Stacy )D-West Liberty) would take effect immediately upon becoming law. Although students would be excused on the instruction days made possible if HB 410 becomes law, teachers and other school employees would still work on those days.
 
Many of the state’s 173 public school districts have missed more than 10 days of school this winter due to snow, ice or bitter cold.
 
“HB 410 is simply the bill that allows some relief for our struggling school districts after the disastrous winter that we’ve had,” Stacy said. “It allows them to go ahead and plan the remainder of their school year.”
 
Supporting the bill was Rep. Brian Linder (R-Dry Ridge) who explained that it will be a help rural school districts like his that “don’t have delays (when there is bad weather). If the weather is bad, we miss the whole day.”
 
Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger) who voted against the bill, said that in the eight years he has served in the Kentucky House “this is the third time we will have forgiven 10 days. And I vote against it every time. And it’s bound to catch up with us at some point.”
HB 410 passed the House 82-8 and now goes to the Senate.