14 school districts in North Carolina defy state law, starting school year earlier than legally allowed
North Carolina law states most traditional public schools can't start the school year until the last week of August.
This year, the official date is Aug. 28. Most school districts are waiting until then, but an increasing number throughout the state are disregarding the law to start earlier.
The school calendar law dates back to 2004, when a group called Save our Summers teamed up with the state’s tourism industry to ask lawmakers to ban school officials from starting the school year any earlier than the last week of August. They said earlier start dates were cutting into family vacation time and hurting vacation rentals on the coast.
At the time, school leaders objected, but then-Rep. Connie Wilson, R-Mecklenburg, said it was a matter of balance.
"We have extreme flexibility for the school districts. We’re just asking one little thing – be a team player for the families and the economy of north Carolina," Wilson said at a 2004 news conference.
House Speaker Tim Moore remembers that debate.
“At that point, the pendulum had swung so far with school starting earlier and earlier and earlier,” Moore said. “You had all the folks from the tourist areas, coastal representatives, who finally just said ‘enough was enough,’ and had a reaction sort of the other way. The pendulum swung wildly back.”
But Moore says education has changed a lot since 2004. K-12 schools work more closely now with community colleges, which start earlier in August. That, in part, has caused some districts to shift earlier, underscoring a dispute among Republican lawmakers.
“You have all these dual enrollments, these other things, which by the way are producing good results,” Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said. “The calendar bill right now — the current calendar law — really can interfere with that because community colleges are on one schedule and schools are on another.”
Moore thinks it’s time to change the law to give schools more flexibility. But Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger is opposed to any change.
“I think the calendar law, as it is, is a good provision for the state. I think it's workable for the school systems," said Berger, R-Rockingham. I think the local systems that are ignoring state law are setting up a really bad example for students."
Stanly County will start Aug. 9; Clay and Surry counties start Aug. 10; Avery, Henderson, Iredell, Lee, Polk and Rutherford counties start on Aug. 14; and Cleveland, Gaston, Jackson, Lincoln and Yadkin counties start on Aug. 16.
“A lot of school districts are sort of doing their own thing in some ways,” Moore said. “So you have this sort of détente.”
Save Our Summers President Louise Lee said she was disappointed school systems would break state law. "This one in particular hits hard," she said, "because it sends this message to students of all ages — we can get away with disregarding this law, so we’re going to do it. Trust that has been placed in education leaders has crumbled."
The State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction [DPI] are limited in what it can do if a district does not comply with state laws.
"Neither the [State Board of Education] nor DPI have any authority to dictate or change school start dates set by local school boards," DPI communications director Blair Rhoades said. "The calendar statute outlines those rules."
An earlier version of this story included Rowan County among the schools starting early. However, that district is on "renewal" status, which allows it to have calendar flexibility. So even though it is starting August 9th, it is legally allowed to do so.
