To permit school districts and nonpublic schools to count time that schools are in session beyond the required minimum number of hours in order to make up "calamity days" missed during the 2004-2005 school year in excess of the number of days permitted by law and the number of days specified in their contingency plans, and to declare an emergency.

SECTION 1.  A school district or nonpublic school shall not be considered to have failed to comply with division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code or the state minimum standards during the 2004-2005 school year because a school was closed due to hazardous weather conditions for a number of days exceeding the number permitted under sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code, if both of the following apply:

(A) In the case of a school district, the district makes up the number of days specified in its contingency plan adopted under division (A) of section 3313.482 of the Revised Code in accordance with that plan or, in the case of a nonpublic school, the school makes up the number of days specified in any contingency plan adopted by the school's governing authority in accordance with that plan;

(B) During the period beginning on February 1, 2005, the school was open for instruction for more hours than the required number of hours on a sufficient number of days to make up all remaining days a school was closed in excess of the number permitted by sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code due to hazardous weather conditions.

As used in this section, the "required number of hours" for any school district is five hours per day in the case of students in grades one through six and five and one-half hours per day in the case of students in grades seven through twelve, and for any nonpublic school is five hours per day for students in grades one through twelve. A public school or school district shall be deemed to have "made up" a day under division (B)(2) of this section for each additional five hours its students in grades one through six are in attendance on and after February 1, 2005, and for each additional five and one-half hours its students in grades seven through twelve are in attendance on and after February 1, 2005. A nonpublic school shall be deemed to have "made up" a day under division (B) of this section for each additional five hours its students in grades one through twelve are in attendance on and after February 1, 2005.

SECTION 2. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity lies in the fact that immediate action is needed to provide school districts and nonpublic schools an alternative way to make up days missed in the current school year due to hazardous weather conditions in excess of the number of days permitted by law. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.