{"id":752880,"date":"2025-11-13T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&#038;p=752880"},"modified":"2025-11-17T13:32:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T19:32:02","slug":"education-watch-increasing-oklahomas-minimum-school-year-worth-a-discussion","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/newsletter\/education-watch-increasing-oklahomas-minimum-school-year-worth-a-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Watch: Increasing Oklahoma&#8217;s minimum school year &#8216;worth a discussion&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>This article was originally delivered to subscribers of our Education Watch newsletter.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/newsletters\/\">Sign up<\/a>&nbsp;now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In a TV interview recently, Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields dropped a policy idea that raised a few eyebrows: increasing the number of school days. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked about the number of instructional days on <a href=\"https:\/\/kfor.com\/video\/flash-point-state-education-budget-and-the-blue-wave\/11243337\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KFOR&#8217;s Flash Point<\/a>, Fields pointed out that Oklahoma requires 15 days fewer than most states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;When you think about where we rank, and how much we go to school, I wonder if there&#8217;s a correlation there,&#8221; Fields said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oklahoma technically requires 181 days per year, <a href=\"https:\/\/reports.ecs.org\/comparisons\/instructional-time-policies-2023-01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">like most other states<\/a>. But districts can be exempt from that minimum if they&#8217;re in session at least 1,086 hours and 166 days per year (the Legislature increased these minimums by one day starting this school year.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Schools&#8217; minimum days is worth a discussion, he said, considering how to pay for it, and how to prioritize it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another policy issue Fields weighed in on recently is literacy-based retention, which Oklahoma had in place until 2024. <a href=\"https:\/\/nondoc.com\/2025\/11\/11\/big-part-of-the-conversation-legislature-to-consider-reimplementing-literacy-based-retention\/?emci=b4c6154b-70bf-f011-8194-00224823ff9b&amp;emdi=aa46449f-dabf-f011-8196-6045bdfe8e9c&amp;ceid=1105042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NonDoc has that story<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Questions, comments, story ideas? Please reach out via <a href=\"mailto:jpalmer@oklahomawatch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-medium-font-size\">\u2014 Jennifer Palmer<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: The minimum school calendar increased slightly to 181 days or 1,086 hours and 166 days in 2025-26. This story has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oerb.com\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Powered-by-the-people-of-Oklahoma-Oil-and-Natural-Gas.png?resize=600%2C250&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-736277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Powered-by-the-people-of-Oklahoma-Oil-and-Natural-Gas.png?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Powered-by-the-people-of-Oklahoma-Oil-and-Natural-Gas.png?resize=336%2C140&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Powered-by-the-people-of-Oklahoma-Oil-and-Natural-Gas.png?resize=400%2C167&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Powered-by-the-people-of-Oklahoma-Oil-and-Natural-Gas.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recommended Reading<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">An Oklahoma City charter school is a step away from forced closure after state officials reported \u201cserious concerns\u201d of poor instruction, financial struggles and organizational disarray. <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomavoice.com\/2025\/11\/11\/okc-charter-school-with-1-teacher-and-115-students-lands-on-probation\/?emci=b4c6154b-70bf-f011-8194-00224823ff9b&amp;emdi=aa46449f-dabf-f011-8196-6045bdfe8e9c&amp;ceid=1105042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">[Oklahoma Voice]<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Just months after a legal case involving a proposed Catholic charter school was resolved, a Florida-based Jewish charter school foundation has told the Statewide Charter School Board it plans to apply for authorization to establish a religious-based virtual charter school in Oklahoma to open for the 2026-27 school year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/news\/education\/2025\/11\/11\/florida-foundation-wants-to-open-religious-charter-school-in-oklahoma\/87204135007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">[The Oklahoman]<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">American classrooms have been transformed by screens in the last five years, with most students, of all ages, now learning on computers or tablets during the school day. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/06\/us\/abby-zwerner-virginia-teacher-shooting-lawsuit.html\">[<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/12\/upshot\/teachers-survey-chromebooks-class.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The New York Times]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=1800%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-733889\" style=\"width:600px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?w=1800&amp;ssl=1 1800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=336%2C112&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=771%2C257&amp;ssl=1 771w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=768%2C256&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=1536%2C512&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=1200%2C400&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=1024%2C341&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=1568%2C523&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=400%2C133&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?resize=706%2C235&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Sign-up-for-Ted-Streulis-Newsletter-4.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Help Us Make a Difference<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Oklahoma needs high-quality investigative journalism. That is our mission at Oklahoma Watch. We produce stories that hold government and public officials accountable and that make transparent what some prefer to keep secret. 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In a TV interview recently, Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields dropped a policy idea that raised a few eyebrows: increasing the number of school days. When asked about the number of instructional days [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2622484,"featured_media":752888,"template":"","meta":{"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"everlit_article_id":"","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"","disable_auto_ads":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","footnotes":"","mc_folder_id":""},"categories":[13,129,8384],"tags":[88,124,21413,20451,21298,19178,173,517,21412],"newspack_nl_advertiser":[],"coauthors":[401],"class_list":["post-752880","newspack_nl_cpt","type-newspack_nl_cpt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-education-watch","category-newsletters","tag-education-2","tag-education-watch","tag-instructional-time","tag-kfor","tag-lindel-fields","tag-literacy","tag-oklahoma-education","tag-retention","tag-school-calendar","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Education Watch: Increasing Oklahoma&#039;s minimum school year &#039;worth a discussion&#039; - Oklahoma Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/newsletter\/education-watch-increasing-oklahomas-minimum-school-year-worth-a-discussion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Education Watch: Increasing Oklahoma&#039;s minimum school year &#039;worth a discussion&#039; - Oklahoma Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article was originally delivered to subscribers of our Education Watch newsletter.&nbsp;Sign up&nbsp;now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox. 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