School Act

SCHOOL CALENDAR REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 166/2002]

Interpretation

1 (1) For the purposes of this regulation, "Act" means the School Act.

(2) For the purposes of the Act and the regulations:

"administrative day" means, in respect of any school, a school day in which the principal, vice principals, directors of instruction and teachers of the school are available for administrative activities but students are not in attendance;

"days in session" means, in respect of any school, the days in a school year on which the principal, vice principals, directors of instruction and teachers of the school are scheduled, in the school calendar applicable to the school, to be available for instructional, non-instructional or administrative activities;

"hour of instruction" means, in respect of any school, an hour in which students of the school are in attendance and under supervision for the purpose of receiving instruction in an educational program including work study and work experience programs, examinations or other learning activities provided by the board;

"instruction" or "instruction in an educational program" means the board approved provision of educational programs to students who are in attendance and under supervision and includes the provision of

(a) work study and work experience programs,

(b) examinations, and

(c) other learning activities provided by the board;

"local school calendar" means a school calendar adopted by a board under section 78 (3) of the Act;

"non-instructional days" means the total of the increments of school days for which non-instructional periods are scheduled;

"non-instructional period" means, in respect of any school, a period of time in which students of the school are not in attendance and teachers of the school are present at the school or at another site agreed to by the board for one or more of the following purposes:

(a) professional development;

(b) parent teacher community conferences on educational matters;

(c) school planning, preparation of student progress reports or teacher education related to new curriculum or to education change;

(d) parent teacher interviews, including interviews in which the student is present or participates;

(e) a purpose designated by the minister;

"school day" means any one of the days in session;

"standard school calendar" means the calendar referred to in section 2.

(3) For the purposes of applying this regulation in respect of a school, or a group of students in a school, to which a local school calendar applies, a reference to "school year" is to be read as a reference to the period covered by that local school calendar.

Standard school calendar

2 The standard school calendar is set out in

(a) Schedule 1, and

(b) Schedule 1 (Supplement).

Board must provide standard or local school calendar

3 A board must ensure that a school calendar made available under section 77 of the Act complies with section 4 or section 5 of this regulation.

School calendar consistent with standard school calendar

4 (1) A school calendar that complies with this section must, for a school or group of students to which it applies, for the following year

(a) set out the same number of days in session as are set out in the standard school calendar,

(b) set out the same dates for the administrative day, the school opening day, the school closing day, the vacation periods and the holidays as are set out in the standard school calendar,

(c) provide for not less than the minimum number of days of instruction specified in the standard school calendar for the school year,

(d) provide for not less than the minimum number of hours of instruction specified in section 8 (2),

(e) provide for not more than the maximum number of non-instructional days specified in the standard school calendar for the school year,

(f) set out, for each non-instructional period for the school year, its date and, if the non-instructional period is scheduled for a portion of a school day, the time for which it is scheduled,

(g) subject to section 9 (1), specify the purpose of each non-instructional period,

(h) specify the following:

(i) the length of school days;

(ii) the number of minutes of school operation to be provided in a school day;

(iii) the number of hours of instruction to be provided in a school day;

(iv) the number and length of recesses to be provided in a school day, and

(i) set out such other dates, times and information as the board considers necessary.

(2) If

(a) an amendment to a school calendar under this section is necessary at a time other than when a school calendar must be made available under section 77 (1) of the Act, and

(b) the school calendar as amended will comply with subsection (1),

the board may make the amendment and must give notice of the amendment to the employees of the board assigned to the school and the parents of the students enrolled in the school.

(3) If

(a) an amendment to a school calendar under this section is necessary at a time other than when a school calendar must be made available under section 77 (1) of the Act, and

(b) the school calendar as amended will comply with section 5 (1),

the board may make the amendment if, in making the amendment, it complies with section 5 (2).

[am. B.C. Reg. 166/2002, s. (a).]

Local school calendar

5 (1) A school calendar that complies with this section must, for a school or group of students to which it applies, for the following school year

(a) set out the number of days in session,

(b) set out the dates for the administrative days, if any, the school opening day, the school closing day, the vacation periods and the holidays,

(c) set out the number of days of instruction,

(d) specify the hours of instruction, which must not be less than the minimum number of hours of instruction specified in section 8 (2),

(e) set out, for each non-instructional period for the school year, its date and, if the non-instructional period is scheduled for a portion of a school day, the time for which it is scheduled,

(f) subject to section 9 (1), specify the purpose of each non-instructional period,

(g) specify the following:

(i) the length of school days;

(ii) the number of minutes of school operation to be provided in a school day;

(iii) the number of hours of instruction to be provided in a school day;

(iv) the number and length of recesses to be provided in a school day, and

(h) set out such other dates, times and information as the board considers necessary.

(2) For the purposes of complying with section 78 (3.1) of the Act, in respect of a local school calendar under this section, a board must

(a) adopt the school calendar at a meeting that is open to the public, and

(b) at least a month before the meeting, give notice of the meeting, together with a copy of the proposed school calendar that sets out all the information required under subsection (1), to

(i) the parents of the students enrolled in each school to which the proposed school calendar is to apply, and

(ii) representatives of employees of the board assigned to the school.

(3) If an amendment to a local school calendar under this section is necessary at a time other than when a school calendar must be made available under section 77 (1) of the Act, subject to section 9 (2) and (3), the board must comply with subsection (2) in making the amendment.

Requirement to comply with school calendar

6 A board must operate each school in its district in accordance with the school calendar made available by the board for that school, and if the calendar has been amended in accordance with section  4 or  5, in accordance with the calendar as amended.

[am. B.C. Reg. 166/2002, s. (b).]

Examination days

7 (1) A board may set a school day as an examination day.

(2) On an examination day set under subsection (1),

(a) students of the school need not be in attendance and under supervision except for the purpose of writing examinations, and

(b) principals, vice principals, directors of instruction and teachers of the school may mark examinations, prepare student progress reports and undertake related planning and preparatory activities.

Instructional time

8 (1) In this section, "hours of instruction" does not include recesses, lunch periods and other scheduled breaks between classes.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), in a school year, a board must offer not less than the hours of instruction calculated in accordance with paragraph (a), (b) or (c), as applicable, to the students enrolled in the schools in its district:

(a) for a student in kindergarten: 2.4 hours multiplied by the minimum number of days of instruction set out in the standard school calendar for the school year;

(b) for a student in grades 1 to 7: 4.75 hours multiplied by the minimum number of days of instruction set out in the standard school calendar for the school year;

(c) for a student in grades 8 to 12: 5.15 hours multiplied by the minimum number of days of instruction set out in the standard school calendar for the school year.

(3) For the purpose of introducing students referred to in subsection (2) (a) to school, a board may provide fewer hours of instruction to those students for the first 5 school days after the opening day of school than the hours of instruction required by that subsection.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, a board is deemed in respect of a school or a group of students in its district to provide the number of hours of instruction in a school day specified in the school calendar applicable to that school or group of students for any one or more of the following days included in the school year:

(a) a day set by the board as an examination day under section 7;

(b) a day on which a school is closed as a result of a strike or lockout in respect of some or all of the employees of the board assigned to the school;

(c) a day on which the school is closed by the board under section 73 (1) or 90 (2) of the Act.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation, a board is deemed in respect of a school or a group of students in its district to provide a day of instruction on each of the days referred to in subsection (4) (a), (b) or (c) that falls on a day scheduled as a day of instruction in the school calendar applicable to the school or the group of students.

(6) A board may, for the opening day of a school in its district in any school year,

(a) shorten that day for some or all of the students of the school, and

(b) provide for different dismissal times for different students of the school.

(7) A board may, in any school year, shorten not more than 4 of the school days of a school in its district by a period of time that is not more than one hour, for the purpose of facilitating parent teacher interviews that

(a) are not otherwise scheduled by way of a non-instructional period, and

(b) relate to student progress reports.

(8) If a school day is shortened under subsection (6) or (7),

(a) the school day is deemed, for the purposes of this regulation, to be a full school day, and

(b) the board is deemed, for the purposes of this regulation, to have offered instruction to the students of the school for the period of time by which the school day was shortened.

Non-instructional day

9 (1) The minister may designate, by order, up to one school day of non-instructional periods to be scheduled and used for a specific purpose and non-instructional periods so designated must be scheduled and used for that purpose.

(2) Non instructional periods may be less than one day in length.

(3) A school board may reschedule a non-instructional period previously scheduled in the school calendar applicable to a school or group of students.

(4) If a board reschedules a non-instructional period under subsection (3), the board must give notice of the change

(a) to the parents of the students enrolled in the school or of the group of students, as applicable, and

(b) to the representatives of employees of the board assigned to the school.

Transitional

10 For the 2002/2003 school year, if a board

(a) before the date this regulation takes effect,

(i) gives notice to the persons referred to in section 5 (2) (b) of a public meeting to consider a local school calendar, and

(ii) provides a copy of the proposed school calendar to those persons, and

(b) adopts the local school calendar on or before May 31, 2002 and after the public meeting,

the condition under section 78 (3.1) of the Act for consultation in accordance with the regulations is deemed to have been satisfied.

Schedule 1

Standard School Calendar