Last day of school year is Tuesday for Columbia Public Schools
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Tuesday, May 27 will be the last day of class for students at Columbia Public Schools.
The district sent an email to parents on Tuesday reminding them that May 27 will be the final day and an early release.
On Feb. 17, Columbia Public Schools used the last of its allotted AMI days. The following day, the district had to declare a traditional snow day, requiring the addition of an extra school day to the calendar. Friday, May 23 will also be an early release day.
CPS announced the implementation of AMI days in December and adjusted its calendar earlier this school year to be in line with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s incentive program under Senate Bill 727, which defines a school term as 169 days and a minimum of 1,044 instructional hours.
State guidelines also require schools to include at least 36 make-up hours—equivalent to five days—which can be added to the end of the school year, if necessary.
“The district had been hopeful the passage of Senate Bill 68 would clarify calendar language approved in Senate Bill 727 last year allowing us to remove this day [Tuesday, May 27] from our calendar and still be eligible to receive the teacher salary incentive funds identified in the legislation,” the email to parents says. “However, the initial interpretation of Senate Bill 68 by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) this week does not allow us to drop the day from our calendar. The bill has also not yet been signed by Governor Kehoe. Further, our request for a waiver from the Commissioner, in light of the recent bill passage, has been denied.”