A. School districts shall have the option of establishing and offering an extended school year according to the provisions of this section. The Optional Extended School Year Program provided in paragraph 15 of subsection A of Section 109 of this act means those programs which school districts may provide at the district, site or class level. For the purposes of this program, a school year shall consist of either eleven (11) or twelve (12) months in which school is offered in excess of two hundred (200) days of at least six (6) hours each day. The purpose of the program shall be to improve academic achievement of students participating in the extended school year. The program shall be funded by means of the pupil category weight to be determined by the State Board of Education based upon an amount of funding specified in the State Board of Education's annual appropriation and the level of participation.
B. The State Board of Education shall establish criteria for participation in the program which shall include:
1. A competitive application process based upon requests for proposals;
2. A plan for determining measurable results in terms of academic achievement, pupil retention and other indicators of educational success, including the remediation needs of the district's students;
3. Diversified participation by school district size and geographic location and by amount of school district budget. At least one school district in each of the following categories shall be included: General Fund of less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); General Fund of from One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) to Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00); General Fund of from Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) to Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00); and General Fund of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) or more. Provided, participation in one of the above categories may be disallowed if no district meeting such fund requirements makes application for the program.
Added by Laws 1989, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 18, operative July 1, 1990.