Baesler Sets Aside Days For 2019 School Administrators’ Conference

State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has approved a request from the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders to designate Oct. 17-18, 2019, as days during the 2019-20 school year when classes, athletic events and other school activities may not be held.

The NDCEL represents school superintendents, principals and other administrators. The organization asked the Department of Public Instruction to set aside those days for its annual October conference in Bismarck. Baesler agreed to designate those days as “Administrator Convention Days.”

North Dakota law gives the superintendent authority to set aside up to two days during a school year for professional development, as long as the training is “hosted by an educational organization in this state.” Classes may not be held during those days, and school activities are prohibited, including athletics games and practices.

The text of the law is below:

15.1-06-04.1. School district calendar - Limitation.

1.    A school district may not schedule school-sponsored, school-directed, or school-related activities, including instructional time, during any day that the superintendent of public instruction declares is in conflict with aprofessional development conference directed toward all teachers or all administrators and hosted by an educational organization in this state.

2.    The declaration permitted by subsection 1 is limited to two days during a school year.