Article 2. Kindergarten And Elementary Schools of California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 26. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 2.

No pupil in a kindergarten or in any grade of an elementary school shall be credited with more than one day of attendance in any calendar day and nothing in this article shall be construed to the contrary.

(a) (1) No pupil in a kindergarten shall be kept in school in any day more than four hours exclusive of recesses except for pupils in Early Primary Programs, as set forth in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 8970) of Part 6.
  (2) A pupil in a kindergarten in a school operating on a program of multitrack year-round scheduling pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 37670 may be kept in school on any day for 265 minutes of instruction, exclusive of recesses.
  (b) This section shall not apply to the Pasadena Unified School District or counties of the third class as determined pursuant to Section 28024 of the Government Code, as it read on January 1, 1977.
  (c) This section shall not apply to the San Bernardino Unified School District with regard to any pupil of that district who is determined by the principal of the school in which that pupil is enrolled, pursuant to testing, teacher recommendation, or both, to be developmentally and academically suited for the longer instructional day.

The minimum schoolday in grades 1, 2, and 3 in elementary schools, except in opportunity schools, classes, or programs, is 230 minutes, except where the governing board of a school district has prescribed a shorter length for the schoolday because of lack of school facilities which requires double sessions, in which case the minimum schoolday in such grades shall be 200 minutes.

The minimum schoolday in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in elementary schools and in special day and evening classes of an elementary school district, except in opportunity schools, classes, or programs, is 240 minutes.

(a) The minimum schoolday in grades 1, 2, and 3 in elementary schools may be computed by determining the number of minutes of attendance in any 10 consecutive schooldays and dividing that number by 10. If the resulting quotient is 230 or more, the pupils shall be deemed to have complied with Section 46112, even if the number of minutes attended in any one schoolday is less than 230, but not less than 170.
  (b) The minimum schoolday in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in elementary schools may be computed by determining the number of minutes of attendance in any 10 consecutive schooldays and dividing that number by 10. If the resulting quotient is 240 or more, the pupils shall be deemed to have complied with Section 46113, even if the number of minutes attended in any one schoolday is less than 240, but not less than 180.
  (c) The minimum schoolday in kindergarten in elementary schools may be computed by determining the number of minutes of attendance in any 10 consecutive schooldays and dividing that number by 10. If the resulting quotient is 180 or more, pupils shall be deemed to have complied with Section 46117, even if the number of minutes attended in any one schoolday is less than 180, but not less than 60. No computation authorized by this section shall result in any increase in state apportionments.

The minimum schoolday in kindergartens and in grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in elementary schools, is exclusive of noon intermissions and, except in kindergartens, exclusive of recesses.

(a) No later than July 1, 2017, the Superintendent shall provide the Legislature with an evaluation of kindergarten program implementation in the state, including part-day and full-day kindergarten programs. The evaluation shall include recommended best practices for providing full-day kindergarten programs.
  (b) The evaluation shall include a sample of local educational agencies' full-day and part-day kindergarten programs from across the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that this sample be representative of the diversity of the state, and shall include both urban and rural and small and large local educational agencies within school districts.
  (c) The report required pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
  (d) This section shall not become operative until the Legislature makes an appropriation for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or in any other statute.
  (e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

The minimum schoolday for pupils in kindergartens is 180 minutes inclusive of recesses, and no units of average daily attendance shall be credited for attendance in kindergarten classes if the minimum schoolday of such classes is less than 180 minutes.

A single-session kindergarten class shall meet all of the following criteria:
  (a) The class is maintained for a minimum of 180 minutes per schoolday.
  (b) The kindergarten class teacher is assigned to only one session of kindergarten daily as a principal teacher.
  (c) The kindergarten teacher is a full-time certificated employee.
  (d) The kindergarten teacher shall be available for assistance or assignment in the instructional program of the primary grades when not involved in the kindergarten program.

The governing board of a school district which has fewer than 40 pupils enrolled in kindergarten classes may make application to the Superintendent of Public Instruction requesting approval to maintain two kindergarten classes of 150 minutes each inclusive of recesses on the same day which are taught by the same teacher. The average daily attendance for such classes shall be adjusted by a multiplication factor of 0.500.