K–12 | Daily Report

U.S. CensusSchool districts could receive as much as $60,000 to expand instruction time under recently introduced Congressional legislation.

Even as school districts around California are shrinking their school year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington is trying to push states to move in the opposite direction. 

Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, and other Democratic and GOP lawmakers, have introduced the Time for Innovation Matters in Education Act [PDF] to reward school districts that increase instruction time.

"It's not just about schools, it's about changing the mindset of the general public about public education," Honda told Education Week. "We understand that more time means better performance for students and closure of the achievement gap. We need to start making an investment in the time young people have to learn."

However well-intentioned, the bill is emblematic of the mismatch between expectations emanating from Washington and the realities facing California school districts struggling to stay afloat. It is consistent with calls by President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for children to spend more time in the classroom, despite California schools' struggle just to keep their doors open for the same number of days as last year.

Even under the optimistic projections that Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled yesterday the state general fund will be at its lowest level since 1972-73 relative to personal income. If Brown's proposal yesterday is accepted by the Legislature and $3 billion is restored to education, California's K-12 schools would still be $4 billion in the hole compared to where they were in 2007-08. 

The federal TIME Act would not come close to restoring California's instructional year to the 180-day calendar that had been required until last year. The bill, whose sponsors include Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, specifies that the maximum amount districts could get is between $15,000 and $60,000. 

It was only about a decade ago that California caught up to most other states when it required that school districts offer a minimum of 180 days. That still left California behind most industrialized states that offered 200 or more days. Now many districts have eliminated a week from the school year. Some are threatening to cut several more.  

Local school officials have realized that eliminating school days is one of the most effective ways for a school district to realize significant savings.  

There are no firm estimates of how many California school districts have shortened their school year. But a survey by California Watch showed that about half of the state's 30 largest districts had shortened their instructional calendar this year. School Services of California, a leading consulting firm, said based on informal observations a similar proportion of school districts across the state had done the same thing. 

It's too soon to know how school districts will respond to Gov. Brown's "May revise" of his budget. But while it is possible that fewer school districts will cut their school year any further, it is unlikely that they will restore the days that have been eliminated.