A school district may request a waiver to modify their instructional days and/or time. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction accepts submissions of two types of waivers for this purpose Four Day School Week Waiver and High School Unit Instructional Time Waiver.
- Initial waiver of high school unit instructional time of HSUIT applications are due by March 1 of every year;
- Waiver extension applications are due by July 1 of every year.
- All four-day school week waiver applications (initial and extensions) are due January 5.
North Dakota Century Code 15.1-06-04 states "If a school district intends to operate under a school calendar that consists of four days of instruction per week, the school district shall apply and be approved for a waiver by the superintendent of public instruction".
The school calendar where fifty percent or more of the calendar weeks consist of fewer than five days of instruction definition of a 'four-day school week' is:
Required Hours of Instruction
Schools using a four-day school week must adhere to the minimum hourly requirement of 962.5 hours of instruction per year at the elementary school level, and 1,050 hours of instruction per year at the middle and high school level. Schools may conduct STEM days, physical education days, or provide breakfast and lunch to students. Any planned activity hours – academic or non-academic – on the fifth day of a four-day school week may not be counted in yearly calendar hour totals.
Application Process
The application for a four-day school week waiver can be found online. Applying schools/districts must upload copies of approved school board minutes, school calendar, and bell schedule for the year of the waiver is requested.
A Waiver of High School Unit Instructional Time is required if:
Reconfiguring the school day drops the hours of required unit time of a course (120 hours of student engagement per credit in general coursework; 150 hours of student engagement per credit in Science and CTE courses).
*Note: A school/district may need both waivers if altering their school calendar significantly impacts high school instructional time.
Application Process
The application for a High School Unit Instructional Time waiver can be found online. Applying schools/districts must upload copies of approved school board minutes, school calendar, and bell schedule for the year of the waiver is requested.
*Note: A school/district may need both waivers if altering their school calendar significantly impacts high school instructional time.
- Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock
- Marmarth
- Mott-Regent
- Surrey
- Turtle Lake-Mercer
- Dunseith
- Billings County
- Killdeer
- Parshall
- McClusky-Goodrich
- Maddock
- Alexander
- Wing
- White Shield
- Mandaree
- Eight Mile (Trenton)
- East Fairview
- Belcourt
- Horse Creek
- Rugby
- Beach
- North Sargent
- Grand Forks Career Impact Academy
- Legacy
- Bishop Ryan
- Drake-Anamoose
- Center-Stanton
- Velva
- Bowman County
- Wilton
- West Fargo Public Schools
- St. Mary’s Central High School
- Montpelier
- Dakota Memorial
- Ellendale
- Shiloh Christian
- Dickinson