Back to Wyoming
SF0072 • 2025
Summer vacation preservation act.
AN ACT relating to education; modifying the duties of the state board of education in approval of alternative scheduling for a school year; reducing the minimum number of class days required for public schools; reducing the number of professional development days for public schools as specified; requiring the school year to begin after Labor Day and recess prior to Memorial Day except as specified; specifying legislative intent; and providing for an effective date.
Education
Did Not Pass
The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.
- Sponsor
- Senator Brennan
- Last action
- 2025-02-24
- Official status
- inactive
- Effective date
- 3/1/2025
Plain English Breakdown
The official source material does not provide specific details on how the changes will affect school district budgets or the exact requirements for professional development days.
Summer Vacation Preservation Act
The Summer Vacation Preservation Act modifies the duties of the state board in approving alternative school year schedules and reduces the minimum number of required class days from 175 to 165.
What This Bill Does
- Modifies how the state board of education can approve alternative scheduling for a school year, focusing on fewer than 165 days or specific start and end dates.
- Reduces the minimum number of required class days from 175 to 165 days per school year.
Who It Names or Affects
- Public schools and their students across Wyoming
- Teachers and staff in public schools
Terms To Know
- Average Daily Membership (ADM)
- The total number of students present plus those absent, divided by the actual days the school is open.
- Foundation Program
- A funding model for Wyoming public schools based on attendance and other factors.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill did not pass in its current session.
- Details about how the changes will affect school district budgets are unclear without further legislative action or amendments.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment removes specific language from the bill that relates to school scheduling and professional development days.
- Removes references to alternative scheduling for a school year.
- Eliminates requirements related to professional development days.
- Deletes provisions about when the school year should start after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day.
- The amendment text does not provide details on what will replace the deleted language, if anything.
Plain English: The amendment changes the start date of the school year to begin one week after the Wyoming state fair and modifies several other provisions related to scheduling.
- Removes the requirement for schools to start before Labor Day and instead mandates they begin at least one week after the conclusion of the Wyoming state fair.
- Deletes specific references to Labor Day in favor of the new timing based on the Wyoming state fair.
- Modifies or removes certain provisions related to school scheduling, professional development days, and block grant funding.
- The amendment text is technical and does not provide clear explanations for all changes, making it difficult to fully understand every specific impact without additional context.
Plain English: The amendment changes the word 'shall' to 'may' in three places of the bill text.
- Changes 'shall' to 'may' on page 3, line 14
- Changes 'shall' to 'may' on page 3, line 19
- Changes 'shall' to 'may' on page 4, line 1
- The exact impact of changing 'shall' to 'may' is not explained in the amendment text and may require further context from the bill.
Plain English: The amendment removes a specific line from the bill's first page, which is part of an act related to education and school scheduling.
- Removes a particular sentence or phrase from the beginning of the bill.
- The exact content and significance of the removed text are not provided in the amendment details, making it unclear what specific change this removal entails.
Plain English: The amendment adds language to ensure that public school funding is based on a specific number of attendance days, and modifies existing laws regarding the foundation program and education resource block grant model.
- Adds text after 'intent;' stating that public school funding shall be based on a certain number of attendance days.
- Inserts '(b)' after 'Section 3.' in the bill.
- Includes new provisions specifying that the foundation program and amounts generated by the education resource block grant model will generate resources based on each school district operating for 175 class days and 185 total school days annually.
- The exact number of attendance days specified in the amendment is not clearly stated, only that it should be 'certain'.
Plain English: The amendment modifies the definition of 'average daily membership' (ADM) in education laws, changing how full-time status and prorated calculation for part-time students are determined.
- Adds a new section to define 'average daily membership' or 'ADM', which calculates the total number of pupils present plus absent divided by the actual days the school is open.
- Adjusts the percentage requirement from 80% to 75% for full-time status and specifies how part-time students should be counted in ADM calculations.
- The amendment text does not specify all details about how these changes will affect overall school funding or operations, which may require further clarification.
Plain English: The amendment removes a previous amendment to SF0072 that was related to scheduling changes for public schools.
- Removes the Campbell, E. second reading amendment (SF0072H2003/A) entirely.
- The exact details of what was in the removed amendment are not provided, so it's unclear what specific changes were being deleted.
Plain English: The amendment removes specific language from the bill that relates to school scheduling and vacation dates.
- Removes references to alternative scheduling for a school year.
- Eliminates requirements related to professional development days.
- Deletes provisions about when the school year should begin after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day.
- Strikes out sections detailing how the state board of education would handle these changes.
- The amendment does not provide new text or details on what will replace the deleted language, making it unclear what the final bill's intent is regarding school scheduling and vacation dates.
Bill History
-
2025-02-24
House
H 3rd Reading:Failed 5-52-5-0-0
-
2025-02-21
House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-02-20
House
H COW:Passed
-
2025-02-14
House
H Placed on General File
-
2025-02-14
House
H04 - Education:Recommend Do Pass 6-2-1-0-0
-
2025-02-10
House
H Introduced and Referred to H04 - Education
-
2025-01-22
House
H Received for Introduction
-
2025-01-22
Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 17-13-1-0-0
-
2025-01-21
Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-01-20
Senate
S COW:Passed
-
2025-01-17
Senate
S Placed on General File
-
2025-01-17
Senate
S04 - Education:Recommend Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0
-
2025-01-16
Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S04 - Education
-
2025-01-06
Senate
S Received for Introduction
-
2024-12-31
LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
25LSO-0328
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0328
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0072
Summer vacation preservation act.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Brennan, Biteman, Landen, Olsen and Rothfuss and Representative(s) Andrew, Angelos, Banks, Rodriguez-Williams and Wasserburger
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to education; modifying the duties of the state board of education in approval of alternative scheduling for a school year; reducing the minimum number of class days required for public schools; reducing the number of professional development days for public schools as specified; requiring the school year to begin after Labor Day and recess prior to Memorial Day except as specified; specifying legislative intent; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 21
‑
2
‑
304(b)(viii), 21
‑
4
‑
301(a) and 21
‑
13
‑
307(a)(ii)(intro) are amended to read:
21
‑
2
‑
304.
Duties of the state board of education.
(b)
In addition to subsection (a) of this section and any other duties assigned to it by law, the state board shall:
(viii)
Approve or disapprove alternative scheduling for school districts requesting
to commence a school year before Labor Day, to recess a school year after Memorial Day or
to operate for fewer than
one hundred seventy
‑
five (175)
one hundred sixty
‑
five (165)
days in
a
school year, but no schedule shall be approved which reduces the minimum pupil
‑
teacher contact time defined by the state board. The state board shall establish by rule for grades kindergarten through twelve (12) minimum pupil
‑
teacher contact time requirements, which may include instruction outside of the physical classroom through virtual education or other equivalent methods the state board deems appropriate;
21
‑
4
‑
301.
Schools to be free and accessible to all children; minimum school year.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided by law, the public schools of each school district in the state shall at all times be equally free and accessible to all children resident therein of five (5) years of age as of August 1, or September 15 if pursuant to an approved request under W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
110(a)(xxxviii), of the year in which they may register in kindergarten as provided in W.S. 21
‑
4
‑
302(b) and under the age of twenty
‑
one (21), subject to regulations of the board of trustees.
Each school year shall commence after Labor Day and recess not later than Memorial Day in the immediately succeeding calendar year unless an alternative schedule has been approved by the state board.
Each school district shall operate its schools and its classes for a minimum of
one hundred seventy
‑
five (175)
one hundred sixty
‑
five (165)
days each school year unless an alternative schedule has been approved by the state board. Prior to submission of a proposed alternative schedule to the state board, the board of trustees shall hold at least two (2) advertised public meetings within the district, at which the board shall present the proposed alternative schedule and respond to public questions and comments. Any school district operating under an alternative schedule shall annually evaluate the effectiveness of that schedule in meeting the educational goals and purposes for which the schedule was adopted.
21
‑
13
‑
307.
Eligibility to share in distribution of money from foundation account; mandatory financial reporting.
(a)
Each district which meets the following requirements is eligible to share in the distribution of funds from the foundation account:
(ii)
Operated all schools for a term of at least
one hundred eighty
‑
five (185)
one hundred seventy days (170)
days or the number of days or equivalent hours authorized under an alternative schedule approved by the state board during the previous school year.
If the school term of any school in a district was less than
one hundred eighty
‑
five (185)
one hundred seventy days (170)
days or less than the total number of days authorized under an alternative schedule approved by the state board, the amount allotted per average daily membership (ADM) under W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
309 for the school shall be in proportion to the length of the term the school actually operated, unless caused by closures of schools:
Section 2.
The modifications to the school year and operation days of schools contained in section 1 of this act shall be effective school year 2026
‑
2027 and each school year thereafter.
Section 3.
No school district shall decrease any teacher's salary as a result of this act.
Section 4.
This act is effective July 1, 2026
.
(END)
1
SF0072