Education; duty-free lunch period and planning period requirements; provisions
What changed between versions
Added specific definitions for 'extreme emergency' (severe weather, mechanical failure, armed attack, transportation disruption, or teacher illness/death) and 'planning period' (time for lesson design, grading, data analysis, and professional development).
Modified requirements to clarify that teachers in grades K-5 must have a 30-minute duty-free lunch period, and teachers in grades K-12 must have a planning period, both of which count as work hours and cannot be used to increase total hours worked.
Added provisions limiting when teachers can be required to supervise students during lunch or planning periods: only one day per week during an extreme emergency, or by request in non-emergency situations.
Added a provision stating that the General Assembly is not required to appropriate funds for implementing these periods, but any funds that are appropriated must be used specifically for duty-free lunch periods for K-5 teachers and planning periods for K-12 teachers.
Modified the waiver provision to explicitly state that these requirements cannot be waived for strategic waiver schools, charter systems, charter schools, completion special schools, or other special provisions, strengthening teacher protections.
