On December 14, 2023, Governor Shapiro signed into law HB 1507 amending the School Code to allow public school entities to adopt a school term consisting of either (a)180 days or (b) 900 hours at the elementary level or 990 hours at the secondary level. Now Act 56 of 2023, the bill reads as follows:

“Public School Code of 1949 is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 130. Minimum Number of Days or Hours.–(a) Notwithstanding section 520.1 or 1501 or other provision of law to the contrary, beginning in the 2023-2024 school year and continuing each school year thereafter, a school entity shall provide within the school year:
(1) a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days of instruction; or
(2) nine hundred (900) hours of instruction at the elementary level or nine hundred ninety (990) hours
of instruction at the secondary level.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or preempt a provision of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between a school employer and an exclusive representative of the employees under the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the “Public Employe Relations Act,” prior to the effective date of this section.
(c) As used in this section, the term “school entity” shall mean a school district, intermediate unit or area career and technical school. “

Upon passage, Act 56 took effect immediately.

The change in law now allows public school entities to adopt a school term consisting of either (a)180 days or (b) 900 hours at the elementary level or 990 hours at the secondary level.  Prior to the change, the PA School Code required that public school entity school terms satisfy both the day and hour minimums, unless the school entity was granted approval by the PA Secretary of Education that allowed for a term to be based on one or the other. Thus, school entities may now increase or decrease the number of days in a school year by creating schedules that meet the hours requirement only.