New Missouri law says school districts are required to meet 169 days; if not, they’ll lose money

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Many kids like having snow days, but those days could come with a price for school districts across the Ozarks.

A new state law requires schools across the state to have at least 169 school days. If not, the state will not pay them. So, some districts, like the Republic School District, are finding new ways to meet the requirements.

“We have chosen to use some additional new methods to ensure that we can meet that requirement without bumping too far into June,” said Dr. Matt Pearce, the superintendent at the Republic School District.

The Republic School District is one of many across the state impacted by the new rule, which was passed by Senate Bill 727 in May.

In years past, state-based school calendars required districts to spend a certain number of hours on teaching. The law now requires schools in cities with more than 30,000 people to meet a 169-day school year.

Lawmakers designed it to discourage districts from moving to four-day school weeks. If the districts don’t meet the required number of days, they’ll lose money, potentially thousands.

Springfield Public Schools already meets the requirement with 172 days scheduled this year, but for others, the 169-day calendar could have some impact.

“Summer school, which impacts people’s travel, which impacts vacations, which impacts the teacher’s willingness to work in summer school, and just a variety of things,” said the superintendent.

Some school districts have added early or late start days and virtual learning to meet the requirement.

“We’re going to try to use our days as wisely as possible. We’ve already told our community that if we have snow days before Martin Luther King Jr Day and before Presidents Day, those are the first two makeup days that we’ll do. But then, additionally, we’re going to have to be ready to go with a late start or early release.”

The rule change doesn’t go into effect until July 1, 2026.

State Rep. Brad Banderman says the original bill had no provision for snow days, which will cause issues for rural schools, which typically have more time off in the winter. He’s filed a new bill to fix the problem.

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