Md. EDUCATION Code Ann. § 7-103
Copyright 2016 by Matthew Bender and Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group
All rights reserved.
*** Statutes current through July 1, 2016 ***
EDUCATION
DIVISION II. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
TITLE 7. PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SUBTITLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Md. EDUCATION Code Ann. § 7-103 (2016)
§ 7-103. Required school days and holidays
(a) Schools to be open for 180 days or 1,080 hours. -- Except as provided in subsections (b), (e), and (f) of this section, each public school under the jurisdiction of a county board:
(1) (i) Shall be open for pupil attendance for at least 180 actual school days and a minimum of 1,080 school hours during a 10-month period in each school year; or
(ii) If normal school attendance is prevented because of conditions described in subsection (b) of this section, shall be open for at least 1,080 hours during a 10-month period;
(2) Shall be open for pupil attendance a minimum of 3 hours during each school day; and
(3) May not be open on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays in order to meet the 180-day or 1,080-hour requirement of this subsection.
(b) Adjustments in school year. --
(1) If a county board submits a written application to the State Board that describes a demonstrated effort by the county board to comply with subsection (a) of this section, the State Board may permit:
(i) Adjustments in the length of the school year;
(ii) Exceptions from the requirement that the school year be completed within a 10-month period;
(iii) Adjustments in the length of the school day; and
(iv) Schools to be open on holidays.
(2) These adjustments may be granted only if normal school attendance is prevented because of:
(i) Natural disaster;
(ii) Civil disaster; or
(iii) Severe weather conditions.
(3) Education funding from State or local sources may not be reduced if there are less than 180 school days in any year because of an approved application under this subsection.
(4) In case of emergency, the State Board may open schools on holidays.
(c) Holidays. --
(1) The following days are public school holidays:
(i) Thanksgiving Day and the day after;
(ii) Christmas Eve and from then through January 1;
(iii) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day;
(iv) Presidents' Day;
(v) The Friday before Easter and from then through the Monday after Easter;
(vi) Memorial Day; and
(vii) Primary and general election days.
(2) If the federal and State observances of a holiday are on different days, the board of education of each county shall determine which date shall be the date of observance for the public schools within the county.
(3) The public schools shall devote a part of the day to appropriate exercises for the following days:
(i) Washington's Birthday;
(ii) Lincoln's Birthday;
(iii) Veterans' Day;
(iv) Columbus Day;
(v) Arbor Day; and
(vi) Any other day of national significance.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the public schools, in the following counties, may remain open and in session on primary and general election days:
(i) Calvert;
(ii) Caroline;
(iii) Dorchester;
(iv) Kent;
(v) Talbot; and
(vi) Worcester.
(d) School terms. -- Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, the State Board shall divide the school year into the terms it considers appropriate.
(e) Year-round schools; pilot programs. --
(1) The county boards of Allegany, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties, and the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City, may elect to operate one or more schools within the county or Baltimore City on a year-round basis, provided that the 180-day and the minimum hour requirements under this section are met.
(2) Nothing in this section precludes a county board from conducting a year-round pilot study or program that is funded by the county board.
(f) Exclusions. -- Publicly funded prekindergarten programs are not subject to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 77, §§ 73-76; 1978, ch. 22, § 2; ch. 925; 1979, chs. 481, 517; 1980, ch. 147, § 2; ch. 220; 1982, ch. 120; 1990, ch. 202; 1994, chs. 108, 249; 1995, ch. 383; 1996, ch. 10, § 1; 1999, chs. 596, 597; 2000, ch. 293; 2002, ch. 288, § 2; 2005, ch. 25, § 1; 2010, chs. 298, 299; 2011, ch. 65; 2012, ch. 395.
Let’s be logical and respect all religions and cultures. MCPS has been too accommodating to religious and cultural events. MCPS 1st priority is to teach and not to be the social worker. We need to go back to the state and re-define “school holidays”. Schools should be closed on all federal holiday. Other days can be given off such as the Friday after Thanksgiving. I am not against winter or spring breaks. WE NEED TO BE FAIR. Our federal holidays are:
ReplyDelete* New Year's Day
* Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
* George Washington’s Birthday
* Memorial Day
* Independence Day
* Labor Day
* Columbus Day
* Veterans Day
* Thanksgiving Day
* Christmas Day
I don’t see Easter. I don’t see the Friday after Thanksgiving. I don’t see Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Hanukah. I don’t see Ramadan or Eid. I don’t see Diwali. I don’t see Chinese New Year. I don’t see Halloween or Kwanza. DID YOU GET MY POINT? Let’s be fair. I don’t want to hear that many teachers will not report to schools On Easter Monday or Yom Kipper. WE PAY THEIR SALARIES. WE PAY FOR THEIR BENEFITS. They need to report to schools and COMPLY with MCPS’s guidelines.
So let us build a schedule to serve the interest of our kids.
Why do you suppose Christmas is a Federal holiday? Um, yeah, it's because the Christians would be taking that day off work. The only reason you "don't see Easter" is because it always falls on a Sunday, not a weekday (see: Blue Laws). You would insist that Jewish teachers and students attend school on high holy days? Really?
DeleteWhy *should* schools be closed on all Federal holidays? The teachers ARE in school on Columbus Day and Veteran's Day, which makes it easier, frankly, for schools to have Open Houses that parents can actually attend without loss of work time in most offices around here.
And where does Hogan get off mandating "appropriate exercises" for certain holidays? What are "appropriate exercises" for Columbus Day? (Can of worms ready to be opened there!)
@crunchy The above is MARYLAND LAW. It was written BEFORE Hogan was elected.
DeleteLet's stop the rumor mill on the calendar discussion. The purpose of posting the current LAW was to put some facts behind the discussion. The above is the current LAW. It has nothing to do with the current Governor. This is the law that was already in place.
Ah - got it. (The "appropriate exercises" thing was also in his order, if my memory isn't faulty on that point.)
DeleteMy other two paragraphs stand.
Anonymous 10:28am, yes let's certainly be fair, so how is it the only days off are for Christians? How convenient winter break is over the Christian holiday of Christmas, and Maryland law requires the Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter as public school holidays. How is that 'fair.' We in Maryland have moved way past the days of the 1950s when Christian holidays were the only religious holidays acknowledged and Christian prayers were said in public schools. We are not going back.
ReplyDelete