Students in the Lawrence school district will have to attend class on Friday, April 18, to make up for one of the four days cancelled this year due to weather. High school students will spend a few extra minutes in each class over a four-week period to make up for another.

Superintendent Rick Doll announced the plan during the Lawrence school board meeting Monday night.

State law states that districts have to provide a minimum number of instructional days during a school year: 465 hours for kindergarten; 1,116 for grades 1 – 11; and 1,086 for grade 12.

Doll said the district had enough flexibility built into its calendar to absorb the first snow day, which occurred in January. The district also reserved April 18 as a make-up day in the event of a second cancellation.

Because the district provided for, and plans to use, that make-up day, Doll said, the Kansas State Department of Education will effectively “forgive” the third day.

The way school days are structured at different levels, Doll said, elementary and middle schools still have enough flexibility to absorb the fourth weather cancellation, but the high schools will have to make up that fourth day.

Doll said the plan is to stretch out each class during a four-week period between March 24, when students return following spring break, through April 18.

During that time, high schools will add two minutes to each class when they are operating on a seven-period schedule, moving dismissal time on those days from 3:05 p.m. to 3:19 p.m.

They will add five minutes to each class when operating on a block schedule, moving Wednesday dismissal time from 2:30 p.m. to 2:50 p.m., and the Thursday block schedule dismissal time from 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.