To amend sections 3313.482 and 3317.01 of the Revised Code to excuse up to five, instead of three, calamity days for the 2010-2011 school year, to broaden schools' authority to make up calamity days by lengthening remaining days in the school year, and to declare an emergency.

Section 1. That sections 3313.482 and 3317.01 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3313.482.  (A) Annually, prior to the first day of September, the board of education of each city, local, and exempted village school district shall adopt a resolution specifying a contingency plan under which the district's students will make up days on which it was necessary to close schools for any of the reasons specified in division (A)(2) of section 3306.01 and division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code, if any such days must be made up in order to comply with the requirements of that section and sections 3306.01, 3313.48 and, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code. The resolution plan shall provide in the plan for making up at least five full school days. The plan may provide for making up some or all of the days a school is closed by increasing the length of other school days in the manner authorized in division (B) of this section. No resolution adopted pursuant to this division shall conflict with any collective bargaining agreement into which a board has entered pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code and that is in effect in the district.

(B) Notwithstanding the content of anything to the contrary in the contingency plan it adopts under division (A) of this section, if a school district closes or evacuates any school building for any of the reasons specified in division (A)(2) of section 3306.01 and division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code, or as a result of a bomb threat or any other report of an alleged or impending explosion, and if, as a result of the closing or evacuation, the school district would be unable to meet the requirements of sections 3306.01, 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code regarding the number of days schools must be open for instruction or the requirements of the state minimum standards for the school day that are established by the department of education regarding the number of hours there must be in the school day, the school district may increase the length of one or more other school days for the school that was closed or evacuated, in increments of one-half hour, to make up the number of hours or days that the school building in question was so closed or evacuated for the purpose of satisfying the requirements of those sections regarding the number of days schools must be open for instruction or the requirements of those standards regarding the number of hours there must be in the school day.

(C) If a school district closes or evacuates any school building for any of the reasons specified in division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code, and if for that school the total number of full school days specified in the district's contingency plan adopted under division (A) of this section is insufficient to enable the school district to meet the requirements of sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code regarding the number of days schools must be open for instruction or the requirements of the state minimum standards for the school day that are established by the department of education regarding the number of hours there must be in the school day, the school district may increase the length of one or more other school days for the school that was closed or evacuated, in increments of one-half hour, to make up the number of hours or days that the school building in question was so closed or evacuated for the purpose of satisfying the requirements of those sections regarding the number of days schools must be open for instruction or the requirements of those standards regarding the number of hours there must be in the school day. The district shall not be required to actually make up any of the days specified in the district's contingency plan prior to increasing the length of one or more school days to make up the shortage of hours or days caused by the school's closure or evacuation, but in no case shall the district fail to make up the total number of full school days specified in the contingency plan in accordance with that plan.

(D) If a school district closes or evacuates a school building as a result of a bomb threat or any other report of an alleged or impending explosion and also closes or evacuates that school building on a different day for any of the reasons specified in division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code, division (B) of this section applies regarding the closing or evacuation of the school building as a result of the bomb threat or report of an alleged or impending explosion and division (C) of this section applies regarding the closing or evacuation of the school building for the reason specified in division (B) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code.

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code and the requirements of the state minimum standards for the school day that are established by the department of education and notwithstanding the content of the contingency plan it adopts under division (A) of this section regarding the closing or evacuation of a school building as a result of a bomb threat or any other report of an alleged or impending explosion, a A school district that makes up, as described in this division (B) or (C) of this section, all of the hours or days that its school buildings were closed or evacuated for any of the reasons identified in this division (B) or (C) of this section shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of those sections 3306.01, 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code regarding the number of days schools must be open for instruction and the requirements of those the state minimum standards regarding the number of hours there must be in the school day.

Sec. 3317.01.  As used in this section and section 3317.011 of the Revised Code, "school district," unless otherwise specified, means any city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district and any educational service center.

This chapter shall be administered by the state board of education. The superintendent of public instruction shall calculate the amounts payable to each school district and shall certify the amounts payable to each eligible district to the treasurer of the district as provided by this chapter. As soon as possible after such amounts are calculated, the superintendent shall certify to the treasurer of each school district the district's adjusted charge-off increase, as defined in section 5705.211 of the Revised Code. No moneys shall be distributed pursuant to this chapter without the approval of the controlling board.

The state board of education shall, in accordance with appropriations made by the general assembly, meet the financial obligations of this chapter.

Moneys distributed pursuant to this chapter shall be calculated and paid on a fiscal year basis, beginning with the first day of July and extending through the thirtieth day of June. The moneys appropriated for each fiscal year shall be distributed periodically to each school district unless otherwise provided for. The state board shall submit a yearly distribution plan to the controlling board at its first meeting in July. The state board shall submit any proposed midyear revision of the plan to the controlling board in January. Any year-end revision of the plan shall be submitted to the controlling board in June. If moneys appropriated for each fiscal year are distributed other than monthly, such distribution shall be on the same basis for each school district.

Except as otherwise provided, payments under this chapter shall be made only to those school districts in which:

(A) The school district, except for any educational service center and any joint vocational or cooperative education school district, levies for current operating expenses at least twenty mills. Levies for joint vocational or cooperative education school districts or county school financing districts, limited to or to the extent apportioned to current expenses, shall be included in this qualification requirement. School district income tax levies under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code, limited to or to the extent apportioned to current operating expenses, shall be included in this qualification requirement to the extent determined by the tax commissioner under division (D) of section 3317.021 of the Revised Code.

(B) The school year next preceding the fiscal year for which such payments are authorized meets the requirement of section 3313.48 or 3313.481 of the Revised Code, with regard to the minimum number of days or hours school must be open for instruction with pupils in attendance, for individualized parent-teacher conference and reporting periods, and for professional meetings of teachers. This requirement shall be waived by the superintendent of public instruction if it had been necessary for a school to be closed because of disease epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school's operation, damage to a school building, or other temporary circumstances due to utility failure rendering the school building unfit for school use, provided that for those school districts operating pursuant to section 3313.48 of the Revised Code the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance and for individualized parent-teacher conference and reporting periods is not less than one hundred seventy-five, or for those school districts operating on a trimester plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than seventy-nine days in any trimester, for those school districts operating on a quarterly plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than fifty-nine days in any quarter, or for those school districts operating on a pentamester plan the number of days the school was actually open for instruction with pupils in attendance not less than forty-four days in any pentamester. However, for fiscal year 2012, the superintendent shall waive two fewer such days for the 2010-2011 school year.

A school district shall not be considered to have failed to comply with this division or section 3313.481 of the Revised Code because schools were open for instruction but either twelfth grade students were excused from attendance for up to three days or only a portion of the kindergarten students were in attendance for up to three days in order to allow for the gradual orientation to school of such students.

The superintendent of public instruction shall waive the requirements of this section with reference to the minimum number of days or hours school must be in session with pupils in attendance for the school year succeeding the school year in which a board of education initiates a plan of operation pursuant to section 3313.481 of the Revised Code. The minimum requirements of this section shall again be applicable to such a district beginning with the school year commencing the second July succeeding the initiation of one such plan, and for each school year thereafter.

A school district shall not be considered to have failed to comply with this division or section 3313.48 or 3313.481 of the Revised Code because schools were open for instruction but the length of the regularly scheduled school day, for any number of days during the school year, was reduced by not more than two hours due to hazardous weather conditions.

(C) The school district has on file, and is paying in accordance with, a teachers' salary schedule which complies with section 3317.13 of the Revised Code.

A board of education or governing board of an educational service center which has not conformed with other law and the rules pursuant thereto, shall not participate in the distribution of funds authorized by sections 3317.022 to 3317.0211, 3317.11, 3317.16, 3317.17, and 3317.19 of the Revised Code, except for good and sufficient reason established to the satisfaction of the state board of education and the state controlling board.

All funds allocated to school districts under this chapter, except those specifically allocated for other purposes, shall be used to pay current operating expenses only.

Section 2. That existing sections 3313.482 and 3317.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. 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 is to provide schools with adequate time to address unavoidable school closures due to public calamities, such as hazardous weather conditions, during the current school year. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.