As stated before, the EAA defines “noninstructional time” as “time set aside by the school before actual classroom instruction begins or after actual classroom instruction ends.”
20 U.S.C. § 4072(4). The
Prince panel conceded that “student/staff time [at Spanaway High] is a scheduled class where attendance is taken, and
where no formal classroom instruction takes place, except on a voluntary, individual basis. During this time, a student may work on homework, receive one-on-one tutoring with a teacher, attend school assemblies, or, with prior arrangement and scheduling, participate in a student club meeting. Students are not permitted to leave campus, and attendance is taken.”
303 F.3d at 1087 (emphasis added). Having conceded that “no formal classroom instruction takes place,” the
Prince panel should have followed the mandatory logical rules of the categorical deductive syllogism to conclude that the activity period fell before or after “actual classroom instruction,” thus qualifying under the statute. The student/staff time in
Prince fell in the middle of the instructional school day, sandwiched between definite periods of “actual classroom instruction”—a temporal framework identical to the lunchtime scenario in
Ceniceros.