Directions for Schedule A-8 (Extraordinary Condition Days and State of Emergency Days)
Education Law Section 3604(7) states that the total foundation aid for the base year may be reduced by 1/180th for each day less than the required 180 days that the schools of the district were actually in session. Education Law 3604(7) also states that the Commissioner has the ability to disregard such reduction based on extraordinary conditions or a declared State or Local State of Emergency. See below for specifics.
Extraordinary Conditions Pursuant to §3604(7)(ii)
Section 3604(7)(ii) of the Education Law states that the Commissioner may disregard such reduction, up to five days, if one or more schools of the district were not in session for 180 days because of either extraordinarily adverse weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel, lack of electricity, natural gas leakage, unacceptable levels of chemical substances, a credible threat to student safety as reasonably determined by a lead school official or the destruction of a school building either in whole or in part. In addition to an extraordinary condition leading to the cancellation of session, districts must make up such canceled days by using any still-available scheduled vacation days (for the secondary grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the first scheduled regents examination day in June, and for the elementary grades all scheduled vacation days which occur prior to the last scheduled regents examination day in June).
If one or more schools of the district were not in session for 180 days because of an extraordinary condition AND the district was unable to make up the days as specified above, the district should use Schedule A-8 appropriately:
Date (SAMS Sch A-8): Enter the date of the extraordinary condition causing the school closure.
Grade Groupings (SAMS Sch A-8): For each date reported, choose “Yes” or “No” from the drop down to indicate whether or not each grade level was affected.
Reason for Session Closure (SAMS Sch A-8): Select the reason for the session closure from the drop-down box. It must be one of the reasons allowed pursuant to Education Law section 3604(7)(ii), which are, extraordinarily adverse weather conditions, impairment of heating facilities, insufficiency of water supply, shortage of fuel, lack of electricity, natural gas leakage, unacceptable levels of chemical substances, or destruction of a school building in whole or in part.
School/Building or Whole District (SAMS Sch A-8): Indicate whether the condition is for a school/building or the entire school district.
District Calendar (SAMS Sch A-8): Provide a valid URL to the district’s final school year calendar published on the district web site. (Please be sure that the school year calendar provided is for the school year for which you are reporting. For example, if you are completing data in 2023-24 SAMS, the calendar provided should be for the 2022-23 school year).
State of Emergency Closures Pursuant to §3604(7)(i)
Section 3604(7)(i) of the Education Law states that the Commissioner may disregard such reduction for any day or days on which session had been previously scheduled, but the superintendent was required to close the school or schools due to a properly executed declaration of a state or local state of emergency.
Session days cancelled by emergency declarations are different than cancellations due to extraordinary conditions (see above). Session days cancelled by emergency declaration do not need to exhaust vacation days and are not limited to five days in a school year.
A properly executed state of emergency is one where the chief executive of any county, city, town, or village issued a local state of emergency declaration “in the event of reasonable apprehension of immediate danger thereof, and upon a finding by the chief executive thereof that the public safety is imperiled thereby, such chief executive may proclaim a local state of emergency within any part or all of the territorial limits of such local government” (Executive Law §24(1)). The Governor of the State of New York may also issue a state of emergency for part, or all of, the State. Pursuant to section 1 of Executive Law §24, such declarations may:
Establish a curfew and the prohibition and control of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, except essential emergency vehicles and personnel. Designate specific zones within which the occupancy and use of buildings and the ingress and egress of vehicles and persons may be prohibited or regulated. Regulate and close places of amusement and assembly. Prohibit and control of the presence of persons on public streets and places.
Only the chief executive of the appropriate municipality may issue a declaration. Only formally issued declarations by the chief executive will be considered eligible for the instructional requirement waiver under this guidance. A formal declaration does not need to explicitly direct the closure of school buildings. A non-exhaustive list of orders that may require closure of school buildings includes the following: emergency declarations that close major arterial roads or infrastructure to non-emergency traffic, prohibit pedestrian traffic, limit gatherings that could impact schools, evacuate certain areas, gather in specific locations, control or limit access to publicly regulated utility services, or shelter-in-place orders. Declarations that do not require school closure may still qualify as extraordinary condition days (see extraordinary condition days above).
Date (SAMS Sch A-8): Enter the date of the State of Emergency Closure causing the school closure.
Grade Groupings (SAMS Sch A-8): For each date reported, choose “Yes” or “No” from the drop down to indicate whether or not each grade level was affected.
Reason for Session Closure (SAMS Sch A-8): Select “State or Local State of Emergency Condition Declared” as the reason for the session closure from the drop down box.
School/Building or Whole District (SAMS Sch A-8): Indicate whether the condition is for a school/building or the entire school district.
Required Documentation (Outside of SAMS): Email the following required documents to OMSSAMS@nysed.gov (See below for required documentation).
In addition to properly completing Sch A8 in SAMS, the district must submit required documentation via email to OMSSAMS@nysed.gov , Attn. Attendance. For the 2022-23 school year, the district must submit via email the relevant executive order as an attachment. Districts must also submit a letter drafted and signed by District counsel making the determination that the district was required to close a school or schools due to a properly executed declaration of a state or local state of emergency, for any day(s) on which session was previously scheduled. This letter must provide:
- The specific declaration of a state or local state of emergency pursuant to article two-B of the Executive Law;
- A brief description of the portion of the declaration that required closure;
- The date(s) of session previously scheduled and impacted by the declaration; and
- A list of impacted buildings and the grade levels they serve.
208 KB) which is to be completed by district counsel.General Notes Regarding Schedule A-8
A School Year Model Calendar EXCEL worksheet has been linked to the Schedule 8 form. Please complete this worksheet to count the number of session days in the school year to determine whether submission of the Schedule 8 is necessary.
Districts must appropriately report the day(s) in SED Monitoring. For questions regarding this please reach out to the Office of Information & Reporting Services at 518-474-7965.
If, after the review of data reported on Sch A8 and all required documents, State Aid grants the request to disregard the day(s), they will mark the schedule as “Approved” by entering the day(s) in the SAMS NYSED Only Form set “SED Use Form Fields” schedule. The approved days will then display on SAMS Form A Schedule A5 line 4 or 5 respectively, and be counted in line 6 toward meeting the required 180 session days for the school year. If disapproved, State Aid will mark as such and provide a disapproval comment on the Sch A8.
Last Updated:
September 6, 2023