Legislation recently passed unanimously in both houses of the state General Assembly and signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last week allows school districts more scheduling flexibility, but scheduling changes are not a new topic.

The law allows districts to have shorter weeks with longer days, or shorter days with longer school years.

Districts currently have to meet both a minimum of instructional hours and days – 900 hours for elementary students or 990 for secondary students and 180 days total instruction time. Under the new law, districts may meet either requirement rather than both.

“The most common conversation I am hearing is about a four-day school week for students,” Warren County School District Superintendent Amy Stewart said.

While there are no immediate plans for change in the district, Stewart said it could allow for more creativity in scheduling.

“This is gaining traction in other parts of the country, and this change would allow Pennsylvania districts to start thinking about new ways of structuring the school day and school week,” she said.

Pennsylvania had been one of a minority of states to require both a minimum hour and day count in a given school year.

Supporters of the change say it will allow greater flexibility to react to weather conditions and emergencies, allow greater flexibility based on individual student needs and allow tracking of virtual students through hours spent on education rather than days.