HF 295 (LSB 2191HH (3) 85)

HOUSE FILE 295

BY  ABDUL-SAMAD and GAINES

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 279.10, subsection 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   1.
  a.  The school year shall begin on the first day of July and each regularly established elementary and secondary school shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls but no later than the first Monday in December. However, if the first day of September falls on a Sunday, school may begin on a day during the calendar week which immediately precedes the first day of September. School shall continue for at least one hundred eighty days, except as provided in subsection 3, and may be maintained during the entire calendar year. However, if the board of directors of a district extends the school calendar because inclement weather caused the district to temporarily close school during the regular school calendar, the district may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment of personnel for in-service training and development purposes before the date to begin elementary and secondary school.
   b.  Each school district shall observe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday in January, as a holiday, and that holiday shall not count toward the minimum number of instructional days in the school calendar.
EXPLANATION
   This bill requires each school district to observe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday in January, as a holiday, and that holiday shall not count toward the minimum number of instructional days in the school calendar.