(a) In School Year 2023-2024, OSSE shall administer a Flexible Schedule Pilot Program ("pilot") to assist participating LEAs in providing additional time for educators to engage in professional development, continuing education, course planning, collaboration, wellness, and other similar activities by providing financial support, resources and guidance, linkages to youth development program providers and partners, and research on existing flexible schedule models across the District.
(b) OSSE shall issue a call for applications and select participating LEAs for the pilot by March 15, 2024.
(1) Participation in the pilot shall be based on criteria OSSE establishes, and the following considerations:
(A) OSSE shall give priority to applications that prioritize elementary and middle schools;
(B) The number of participating schools by ward should be proportional to the percentage of students attending school in that ward;
(C) OSSE shall give priority to applications that prioritize schools with higher-than-average teacher attrition; and
(D) The responses an LEA provides with its application pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) Each LEA's application to the pilot shall include:
(A) The names of the participating schools, the LEA's proposed flexible schedule for each participating school, and an explanation of how flexible scheduling will enhance student achievement for each participating school;
(B) An explanation of how the participating schools identified in the application will meet the 1,080 instructional contact hours otherwise required by OSSE;
(C) The school-level administrators who will be responsible for administering the pilot at each school;
(D) A plan for engaging and communicating with families and students about the pilot;
(E) The projected cost of the pilot and a description of anticipated expenses;
(F) Youth development program providers or other partners the LEA plans to work with to support the pilot and for what purposes, if applicable;
(G) Demographics of each school identified in the LEA's application including:
(i) The ward in which the school is located;
(ii) Number and percentage of students disaggregated by race, English language learner status, at-risk status, and special education status;
(iii) Grade levels served; and
(iv) The number of educators at the school, disaggregated by administrators, teachers, counselors, psychologists, and paraprofessionals; and
(H) Any other information that OSSE may require.
(c) OSSE shall:
(1) Collect data on schools using flexible schedules outside of the pilot that compares different scheduling models and educator attrition rates across those models;
(2) Provide resources and access to technical support for participating schools;
(3) Administer a post-pilot survey to educators that collects feedback on the:
(A) Efficacy of the pilot model measured against its stated goals at each participating school;
(B) Educators' satisfaction with the pilot at their school;
(C) Educators' intent to continue working at their school; and
(D) Any other information that OSSE deems useful;
(4) Administer a post-pilot survey to students and families that collects feedback on their satisfaction with the implementation of the pilot at their school;
(5) By February 1, 2026, make publicly available, a report that includes:
(A) A description of the pilot at each school;
(B) Background information on each pilot school including the demographic information received pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(G) of this section;
(C) A description of costs associated with implementing the pilot at each school;
(D) The results from the educator and student and family surveys issued pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection and an analysis of the results;
(E) An analysis of other impacts or observations of the pilot not captured by the surveys and an analysis of external variables that may have contributed to survey outcomes and students' academic performance;
(F) An accounting of staff attrition in each participating school comparing the average educator attrition rate over the 3 years before the pilot year to the attrition rate of the pilot year;
(G) An analysis of the impact of the pilot on student learning in the impacted grades;
(H) Recommendations for the most effective models of the pilot;
(I) An analysis of the role that youth development program providers and partners played in supporting the pilot, if applicable; and
(J) Recommendations for how successful pilot models can expand to other schools, and what barriers, policy or otherwise, may prevent adoption of successful pilot models.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the term:
(1) "Educator" includes a principal, assistant principal, teacher, assistant teacher, paraprofessional, school psychologist or counselor, all school service providers, or any person who provides professional educational services or education psychological services at a school.
(2) "Flexible schedule" means a scheduling arrangement that allows for variation in the instructional calendars and formats on a daily or weekly basis while continuing to provide academic instruction to students.
(3) "Paraprofessional" means an individual employed by an LEA to provide instructional, behavioral, or other support for teachers and students in or outside of the classroom. This term includes instructional aides or assistants, teacher aides, and paraeducators.
(4) "Youth development program" means a program or service that engages youth in a variety of social, emotional, educational, or recreational activities to promote improvements to their intellectual, behavioral, and physical well-being, consistent with a youth development approach.