2014-15 Sample School Year Planning Calendars
IASB has created these sample planning calendars to help you arrange your calendar for the 2014-15 school year. Plans 1 and 2 are based on a request for early start in August. Plan 3 is the statutory start date, and Plan 4 is a post-Labor Day start date. A blank calendar also is included as a template for you to create your own. NOTE: If starting August 25 or earlier, you need to contact the DE for an early school start waiver.
Click here for the link to the Iowa Department of Education's Waivers for Early School Start, New Innovative Calendar, Exemption from Chapter 12 Accreditation Standards, and Foreign Language.
Below are guidelines for developing your school calendar, along with five federal holidays most commonly observed by schools in Iowa, a listing of other possible holidays/days of observance and the selected benchmark events for the school year.
In planning your calendar, please make note of the following legal provisions:
- Classroom days for students can begin no sooner than the week in which Sept. 1 falls. If Sept. 1 falls on Sunday, then classes may begin during the previous week (Section 279.10, Iowa Code). NOTE: The Department of Education (DE) has authority to grant an earlier start to classes based on the completion of the request for early start as part of the spring Basic Educational Data Survey (BEDS). Contact Marlene Dorenkamp, Bureau of Planning, Research and Evaluation, for further information, (515) 281-5286.
- Classes must be conducted for a total of 180 days for all students, except seniors, who are required to attend 175 days.
NOTE: Graduation ceremonies do not need to be adjusted due to school closings for inclement weather to meet the 175-day minimum calendar for seniors prior to the scheduled graduation. Seniors who have met all graduation requirements may be excused by the board, established in board policy, from make-up days that would otherwise extend the school calendar pursuant to 281-IAC 12.1(7).
- A week of instructional time is defined as 27.5 hours when the shortened hours are due to staff development or parent-teacher conferences scheduled beyond the school day. If the 27.5 hours of instruction is completed in four consecutive days, then the fifth day can be used for in-service or vacation while being counted toward the180-day minimum pursuant to Iowa Code Section 256.7 (19) (b).
2014-15 School Year Planning Calendars
(All calendars are in Word format)
Plan 1*: An early start date and early finish date.
Plan 2*: A middle start date and middle finish date.
Plan 3: A statutory start date and late finish date.
Plan 4: A post-Labor Day start date.
Blank Calendar: This calendar has been left blank so you can customize it for your school. No shading or semester dates are included.
* Plans 1 and 2 will require completion of a request for early start as part of the spring BEDS. Contact Marlene Dorenkamp, Bureau of Planning, search and Evaluation, for further information, (515) 281-5507.
2014-15 Holiday Schedule
2014
Independence Day (Friday, July 4)*
Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 1)*
No School Elections in Even-numbered Years
Rosh Hashanah (Thursday, Sept. 25)**
Yom Kippur (Saturday, Oct. 4)**
Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 13)*
Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 4)
Veterans Day (Tuesday, Nov. 11)*
Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 27)*
Hanukkah (Wednesday, Dec. 17)**
Christmas Day (Thursday, Dec. 25)*
Kwanzaa (Saturday, Dec. 27-Jan. 1)
2015
New Year’s Day (Thursday, Jan. 1)*
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday (Monday, Jan. 19)*
Presidents’ Day (Monday, Feb. 16)
Passover (Saturday, Apr. 4-11)**
Good Friday (Friday, April 3)
Easter (Sunday, April 5)
Memorial Day (Monday, May 25)*
*Federal legal public holiday.
**Jewish Holidays start at sundown of preceding day.
If you have questions about the school planning calendars, contact Angie Kendall at akendall@ia-sb.org, 1-800-795-4272 x247.