FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Kentucky House of Representatives is exploring ways to possibly provide relief to school districts that lost multiple days due to this year's severe winter storm.
Two bills have been filed this week to address the significant learning time lost when a winter storm dumped several inches of snow and ice across the state. Fayette County students missed 11 consecutive days of in-person learning — using four non-traditional instruction (NTI) days and six snow days.
"I think everybody understands it was a different type of winter storm that came through. The fact that the second largest school district in that state was out for over two weeks is stunning to me," House Speaker David Osborne said.
House Bill 631 would give school districts an additional 10 days of nontraditional instruction for the current school year.
House Bill 635 offers more flexibility, allowing districts that have exhausted their current NTI days to switch to a variable calendar. This would let them add time to existing school days rather than extending the school year.
The bill also would allow the Kentucky Commissioner of Education to approve five additional calamity days that districts wouldn't need to make up.
Osborne emphasized the importance of in-person learning while acknowledging the need for flexibility.
"There's no substitute for in-person learning. We see that in every study that's ever done. We see that in our kids performances — that there's no substitute for it," Osborne said.
The Kentucky General Assembly has addressed school makeup day issues before, but Osborne noted that solutions typically face significant resistance, making this a challenging task for lawmakers.
