1. FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS

2. Overview Flexible Instructional Days (FIDS) employ non-traditional strategies to provide a continuity of instruction on regularly-scheduled school days during which circumstances necessitate an alternate approach. For a Flexible Instructional Day (FID) to be deemed a school day and count toward the requisite number of instructional days/hours required under Article 15 of the Public School Code and Chapter 11 of the State Board of Education regulations, a Local Education Agency (LEA) must submit to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) a summary of the local plan that demonstrably addresses, at a minimum, the criteria listed in the application checklist.

3. Culture & Management Criteria This program allows for variety and flexibility based on local policy and decisions. The program must clearly delineate strategies for complying with the Free and Appropriate Public Education requirements, including the delivery of services during FIDs as well as the provisions of any missed services and/or compensatory time afterwards. The plan’s narrative should also address special considerations for students who are homeless or have limited English proficiency.

4. Curriculum & Instruction Criteria The LEA must provide exemplars representative of the instruction to be provided as well as the grade bands impacted: four instructional samplings in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies respectively for secondary implementations, two samples (modeling ELA and Math) for elementary implementations, with an additional two focused on early learning if applicable. Exemplars will be used to ensure that the FID is a continuation of the regular program of instruction.

5. The narrative should include methods for accommodations or modifications where appropriate and at least one exemplar should be illustrative of the program’s contingency plan for students unable to participate in the FID’s primary instructional delivery method.

6. Technology & Support Criteria Programs may be online, offline, or a combination of the two; however, if the program consists of elements that reply on public broadcast or internet access, comparable options must be made available to students and teachers unable to access the resources due to lack of power, technology, or connectivity. Regardless of approach, the educational experience must be a natural extension of the classroom learning and be equitable for all participants, and populations for the FID program to receive PDE approval.

7. Submission & Approval Submissions may be tendered at any time during the school year but PDE approval must be granted prior to the commencement of a local FID program. Approval should be granted in writing within 45 days of submission; however, FID programs with a discernible lack of planning, preparation, and/or capacity for implementation or which elicit significant questions or concerns will be returned and will require revision and resubmission for reconsideration.

8. Approvals will span a three year period barring substantive changes (i.e., a deviation from the initial methodology that would alter a response(s) to the criteria checklist on page two). A significantly modified FID program must be resubmitted to PDE and receive a new approval before the LEA can effect the change(s). Flexible Instructional Days may be used at any time during the scheduled school year but the cumulative number of FIDs in a single school year may not exceed five without the LEA first soliciting and receiving an exception from PDE. Therefore, the approval of a FID program should not supersede emergency planning and the LEA should continue to incorporate make-up days into the school calendar.