House Ed Revamps Manchin's School Calendar Bill

Gov. Joe Manchin's bid to ensure 180 classroom days each school year now focuses on minutes spent on instruction, instead of the year's start and stop dates, in the wake of amendments by the House Education Committee, The Associated Press reports.

"Manchin wanted the Legislature to eliminate the fixed beginning and end dates of the school calendar, giving counties more flexibility to start before Aug. 26 and end after June 8," AP's Tom Breen writes. "But the House committee left those dates in place and instead would allow schools to count extra time in class toward the 180 day requirement."

AP also notes that "The committee amended the bill shortly after Manchin told the editorial board of the Daily Mail in Charleston he was concerned his bill might die there because of the committee's makeup."

Breen writes that "Several members of the committee, including Poling and Vice chairman Paxton, have professional education backgrounds. The committee began Wednesday's meeting with the unusual step of introducing themselves and describing their backgrounds, which ranged from farmer to school principal, which Poling said showed the committee membership has a diverse range of interests."