Momentum grows in several states to begin school year later
After a swing toward starting the school year earlier, sometimes as early as the first week of August, momentum has grown in several states to begin school later in August or after Labor Day. Pressure from parents and the tourism industry has pushed 11 states to limit how early school may begin, rankling school boards that want local control and more time to prepare students for state-mandated tests. This year, new laws took effect in Florida, where the 67 public school districts may not begin classes earlier than 14 days before Labor Day, and Texas, where the 1,033 public school districts may not begin until the fourth week in August. In Michigan, a law enacted last year said the 838 school districts must begin classes after Labor Day. Other states, including Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky, are debating the start date. School boards with early start dates argue that state lawmakers should not impose their will on local communities with individual needs. They're not making the year longer, they're just starting earlier and ending earlier. They say that helps them meet growing academic demands because it allows more uninterrupted class time before winter breaks. "You need to allow local school boards discretion on local matters," says Tom Gentzel, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. "We don't think the state should dictate, especially on a matter like this." According the U.S. Department of Education, the average school year, which each state determines, is 180 days. Most schools start before Sept. 1, according to an annual survey of the nation's 14,000 public districts, conducted by Market Data Retrievals. Last year, 75% started before Sept. 1, compared with 51% in 1988. The tourism industry also has pushed for change. It complains about lost income and a lack of student workers when school starts in early August. In Pennsylvania, a legislative finance report found that the state would collect an additional $18 million in tax revenue every year if families vacationed in the last week of August.
USA Today By Marisol Bello
[Editor’s Note: Virginia’s law generally requiring districts to start school after Labor Day is popularly referred to as the "King’s Dominion Law," after a well-known amusement park. On the other hand, the Honolulu Advertiser reports below that Hawai‘i’s statewide school district has decided to continue its current calendar, under which summer break is seven weeks and the school year starts in July. Although there are concerns about the calendar’s impact on summer school options and building repairs, district leaders feel it important to gain more experience with the schedule before considering revising it. Information on North Carolina’s experience with its new law is at the BoardBuzz link. School Board News highlights another factor that school boards must consider: local weather conditions and the characteristics of local school facilities, such as air conditioning. Finally, NSBA’s Center for Public Education provides a thorough review of the history and current status of the school calendar and what the research indicates about the connection between the school schedule and academic achievement. On the page at the last link below, a box in the upper, right-hand corner has links to a summary of the key findings of the full report and to questions and answers.]
Honolulu Advertiser By Loren Moreno
BoardBuzz on North Carolina calendar mandates
School Board News By Lawrence Hardy
Center for Public Education on school calendar