photo by: Journal-World

Lawrence Public Schools district offices pictured in April 2021.

The Lawrence school district on Thursday announced its plan for making up lost instructional time due to multiple inclement weather days in January, with changes specifically affecting the district’s middle and high schools through the end of the school year.

According to a communication from district spokesperson Julie Boyle sent to school families, all middle and high schools, beginning March 18 when students return to school after spring break, will have adjusted schedules through the end of the school year in order to reach the state-required minimum of 1,116 instructional hours for the 2023-2024 school year. The district used four inclement weather days throughout January, which caused classroom hours through the current middle and high school schedules to fall short.

At middle schools, that means that classes will start at 8:05 a.m. and dismiss at 2:56 p.m. Monday through Friday, with no early dismissal on Wednesdays. High schools will also refrain from early dismissal on Wednesdays, with the school day starting at 8 a.m. and dismissing at 3:10 p.m. Monday through Friday. The high schools will also have a full day of classes on May 21 for final exams for students in ninth through 11th grade. All schools will also be in session April 15, which is designated on the school calendar as an inclement weather make-up day.

“The district understands the revised middle and high school schedules may cause hardships for some of our school families,” Boyle said in the announcement. “We sincerely apologize. It is our hope that by announcing these changes now, families will be able to use the next 10 days to put plans in place for making any necessary adjustments for the remainder of the school year.”

Early childhood and elementary school schedules already meet the state-required minimum instructional hours, according to the announcement, so their schedules won’t be adjusted. The announcement notes that meeting the minimum instructional hour requirement is necessary for school districts to remain accredited and in compliance.