This is self explanatory. The only question is how far into June or July will the school year have to go in order to meet the same school year length requirements. Apparently there have been been economic impact reports done that show a positive impact from starting public schools after Labor Day. In Virginia, a study shows that $369 million would be lost if schools were not required to start after Labor Day. This includes $104 million in wages and $21 million in state and local taxes. In Maryland, a study finds that pushing the start of school back would generate $74.3 million in economic activity and $7.7 million in new state and local tax revenue. Given that Speaker Schwartzkopf and some other Dems are sponsoring this otherwise Republican bill, it will likely get a vote and may pass.
UPDATE: 6/8/17
SPONSORS: Hocker, Gray, Briggs King, Bushweller, Cloutier, Collins, Delcollo, Hudson, Jaques, Q.Johnson, Keeley, Kenton, Lawson, Marshall, Miro, Pettyjohn, Ramone, Richardson, Schwartzk., D. Short, Simpson
YES VOTES: 0
NO VOTES: 0
HISTORY: Assigned to the Education Committee
STATUS: Awaiting a hearing in committee
Not that long ago everyone knew when school started, a day or two after Labor Day. This is a good idea and I would love to see it pass.
I wonder how the weather impacts this. We have already seen a couple (maybe literally 2) of years where schools have had to close because it’s been too frigid or too hot (some of the older school’s don’t have AC or don’t have units that can keep up with demand) So if we push the start of school, does weather (either in a positive, or negative) play a role at all? If they have to go longer into June, does this mean hotter schools? Just some thoughts not necessarily for or against this at this point…