Lawmaker and former teacher moves to legislate time on task

SPRINGFIELD – This will be the last year students in Illinois enjoy a short day on the first and last day of the school year, if a state senator gets his way.

State Sen. David Luechtefeld (R- Okawville) is hoping to pass SB 2850, which mandates that the first and last day of school be a full, at least five-hour, day of class for Illinois’ schools, giving students two more days spent in the classroom.

“It’s a totally wasted day, the first and last day,” said Luechtefeld, who is a retired social studies teacher, athletic director, and baseball and basketball coach from Okawville High School, in Okawville, Illinois.

The Education Committee passed the bill Feb. 7, and it’s now under consideration in the Senate. There is no formal opposition to the proposal.

When Luechtefeld was a teacher, he said he used the second day of school to pass out books and introduce the curriculum, while the first day was basically just an introduction. The second to last day was used to collect the books, because time would not allow it on the last day of school.

“This will give teachers two more days of instruction,” he said.

The bill will not have an effect on school administration work-days, or teachers’ workshops.

“It sounds like were talking about an insignificant amount of time,” said Jim Reed, director of government relations for the Illinois Education Association. “To look to those few hours out of an entire school year, I’m not really sure what (Luechtefeld) hopes to accomplish.”

The Illinois Education Association has not taken a formal position on the bill, but Reed questioned the significance of the first and last day of school.

“Certainly, the more instruction we can have the better, and I know that’s been a big issue in Chicago, in particular,” he said.

Chicago Public Schools have one of the shortest school days at less than six hours, which prompted Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lengthen the school day to seven-and-a-half hours. That includes 120 minutes of reading and writing for first through fifth grades, and 80 minutes of math for third through eighth grades. Thirteen Chicago Public Schools and 37 charter schools have adopted the longer school day.

“The more time students are in class the better, but (Luechtefeld’s bill) doesn’t sound like a very comprehensive way to address what may be a bigger problem in the education system,” said Reed. The amount of time spent in a classroom is not an isolated factor in students’ success, he said.

Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), whose district largely consists of Chicago, suspects that Illinois’ schools will see an increase in attendance on the first and last days of school.

“Now parents will know their kids are in school all day and they don’t have to figure out what they’re going to do on the first day of school for only one hour,” she said.

Resources and finances from the federal government are intrinsic upon an average daily attendance count number. Despite the briefness of the first and last day of school, attendance was always counted in Illinois.

“Some kids miss the first day of school because it was only one hour; we may see a huge increase in enrollment,” said Lightford, who is vice-chairperson of the education committee. She wasn’t present when the bill was passed, but doesn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be made into a law.

The bill was passed out of both houses last year, but the lengthy legislative process led to its veto. By the time it reached the governor’s office, schools had already established their schedules.

This time around, Luechtefeld has accounted for the time it takes a bill to process and has aimed for the law to take effect September 2013.