Minnesota Public Schools students could see four-day week if bill passes

(St. Paul, MN) -- A four day school week is on the table at the Minnesota Legislature.

The bill is sponsored by Representative Dave Baker (R-Willmar) and would give school boards the power to put in place a four day school week without approval from the State's Department of Education. The missing Friday class-time would still need to be made up in the remaining four days.

 “I’m excited about this (bill), and I think we need to bring this to a larger scale,” Baker said. “If others think this is right for them, this bill simply brings it to the local school boards for the decision and the process that it takes to consider this for their school district.”

Adosh Unni, a spokesperson from the Education Department expressed concerns, saying removing the department from the decision making process could lead to difficulties in maintaining a consistent statewide expectation of a Minnesota classroom.

“The goal is to maintain a consistent statewide expectation around some of these services and access to resources that we provide for our students and families and educators,” he said.

The bill would still require school districts to follow the following rules, according to a release from the Minnesota House.

• at least 425 hours of instruction for a kindergarten student without a disability;
• 935 hours of instruction for a student in grades 1 through 6;
• 1,020 hours of instruction for a student in grades 7 through 12, not including summer school.
• at least 850 hours of instruction for the school year for all day kindergarten;
• at least 350 hours of instruction for the year for a prekindergarten student, if offered by the district; and
• at least 165 days of instruction for a student in grades 1 through 11 unless a four-day week schedule is implemented.

You can learn more about the proposed bill by clicking here.