Hays CISD Announces Elementary Schools Start Time Changing

Hays CISD is taking advantage of a new state law that allows districts to bank time in order to avoid having to make up for inclement weather delays and cancellations. This will require us to add 10 minutes at the beginning of the school day to the elementary school schedule beginning January 5, 2016, when we return from the holiday break. High schools and middle schools in Hays CISD already have longer school days, so their schedules will not have to be adjusted to accumulate extra time.

House Bill 2610, which passed into law this last legislative session, changed the language regarding the minimum time students must be in school. Previously, that time was measured in the number of school days. Now, it is measured by the number of instructional minutes.

Our current elementary school schedules meet the minimum required number of minutes, but do not allow for any extra time. By adding 10 minutes each day during the course of the spring semester to the elementary schedules, we will be able to bank an additional 980 minutes for elementary students. Because of their already longer school day, the high schools and middle schools in our district are banking 1,750 and 2,625 minutes this year with the current schedule. Avoiding an inclement weather make-up day requires 420 minutes. Avoiding making up for delayed starts requires either 120 or 180 minutes.

We know changing the school schedules may disrupt your morning routines. However, by adding just a little extra time each day to the elementary schedule, we believe the benefit to families will be worth making the change. Please see the chart below for a summary of the schedule changes. Parents will be able to see their children’s exact bus schedule times in the Hays CISD online parent portal by the afternoon of January 4, 2016.