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The Iowa legislature is discussing a bill that states public school years will now be measured by hours instead of days. This means instead of 180 instructional days, students will need to be in class for a minimum of 1,080 hours.

Knoxville Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Flack says the impact this will have on the district is hard to predict because of the unpredictability of weather or other occurrences that may require schedule adjustments. He says the current calendar has more than the minimum hours required, though he feels that more time in the classroom should be required rather than less.

Dr. Flack says he believes the school year should be at least 10 days longer for students and include at least 10 full days of professional development for students. He says he has seen studies that by their senior year, our students have the equivalent of two years less instructional time than students in other countries. The new regulations will take effect on July 1st of 2012.

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