MCSD doesn’t have to make up missed days, state official says

The Muscogee County School District doesn’t have to make up any of its missed class days this year because it has a waiver from such a state law.

That’s the news Georgia Department of Education communications director Meghan Frick. She told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Friday afternoon that MCSD and most of Georgia’s school districts have contracts with the state that allow them flexibility from certain state laws and requirements in exchange for meeting annual performance targets. MCSD, which is a Strategic Waivers School System, has a waiver from the state law requiring schools to make up missed instructional time when it exceeds four days.

So the Muscogee County School Board won’t be required to approve superintendent David Lewis’ recommendation at a called meeting 5:30 p.m. Monday to vote on revising the school district’s calendar to conduct classes on the Feb. 19 Presidents Day holiday.

MCSD has missed four of its scheduled 180 days of classes this school year: Jan. 17-18, because of snow and ice, and Sept. 11-12, because of Tropical Storm Irma.

In an email to MCSD employees Friday afternoon, Lewis wrote, “These four cancelled days of school represent a concerning amount of lost instructional time for our students.” Then he explained his recommendation’s rationale.

“My reasoning is that President’s Day is typically not considered a major travel holiday and it is the only day before statewide testing begins other than Spring Break, for which many families already have travel plans,” Lewis wrote. “In the event that students or school personnel have already made plans for February 19 that cannot be altered (weddings, college visitations, medical procedures, etc.), they will be excused with appropriate documentation.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 3:05 PM with the headline "MCSD doesn’t have to make up missed days, state official says."