(1) Each teacher shall be provided access to a copy of his or her employment contract upon request.
(2) Twenty (20) school days, or days in which teachers are actually employed in the schoolroom, shall constitute a school month in the common schools.
(3) Each full-time teacher shall be provided with a duty-free lunch period each day during the regularly scheduled student lunch period. The duty-free lunch period shall be not less than the length of the lunch period specified in the school calendar approved by the chief state school officer. A full-time teacher may be assigned to lunch room duty during the regularly scheduled student lunch period only for an amount of time equal to the noninstructional time in excess of fifty-five (55) minutes included in the teacher's daily schedule. The calculation of noninstructional time shall not include the teacher's duty-free lunch period, the time teachers are required to be at school prior to the start of the student's instructional day, or the time teachers are required to remain at school after the students are dismissed.
(4) Except for children with disabilities and children attending the primary school program who may attend a program of less than six (6) hours per day under policy adopted by the local school district board of education and approved by the commissioner of education and children attending a school district where the local board has approved a schedule that provides at least the equivalent of six (6) hours of daily instruction during the school year, a minimum of six (6) hours of actual school work shall constitute a school day. Kindergarten programs may be operated for less than six (6) hours without state board approval. The Kentucky Board of Education, upon recommendation of the chief state school officer, shall develop and approve regulations governing make up by school districts of whole days missed due to emergencies, or partial days missed as a result of shortening regularly scheduled school days due to emergencies.
(5) Teachers shall be provided additional time for nonteaching activities. The nonteaching time shall be used to provide teachers opportunities for professional development activities as provided in KRS 156.095, instructional planning, school- based decision making as provided in KRS 160.345, curriculum development, and outreach activities involving their students' families and the community.
(6) Character education programs and activities shall be considered valuable and legitimate components of the actual school work constituting a school day under subsection (4) of this section.