North Carolina Senate leaders introduced a bill earlier this week aimed at providing more flexibility to local school districts in setting their school calendars. The bill would also impose stricter punishment for districts that defy the law.
Senate Bill 754, titled “School Calendar Flexibility: A New Alternative,” was filed by Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and Sens. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover.
The bill offers school districts two options for setting their academic calendars. One follows the current law, which requires a start date no earlier than Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end date no later than the Friday closest to June. The new options allow schools to start as early as the Monday closest to Aug. 19, with the school year ending no later than the Friday before Memorial Day.
The bill also outlines consequences for school boards that violate the law. The superintendent of public instruction would investigate violations and report to the State Board of Education. Districts that violate the law would lose funding for central office staff and supplies if they do not take corrective actions.
Residents and business owners of the district would also be able to sue their local school boards.
“This balances the desire of some school districts to start the school year earlier while still supporting our local businesses dependent on summer tourism,” Berger said in a release announcing the bill. “We must take the appropriate steps to hold school districts that break the law accountable.”
This marks a shift for Berger, who has long maintained that districts should stick to the current law.
Many school districts argue that an earlier start date allows them to complete a full semester of instruction and final exams before winter break, preventing learning loss during the recess.
Supporters also point out that the flexibility would allow school districts to better align high school and community college schedules, making it easier for high school students to earn college credit while still in high school.
The North Carolina tourism industry has long opposed granting school districts more control over their calendars, arguing that earlier start date hurts family vacations and summer tourism revenue. The state’s current school calendar law aligns with the industry’s preference for a break that includes most of August and was chiefly the result of industry lobbying effort when it was enacted in 2004.
Legislative efforts to grant local school districts more control over school calendars have stalled over the years. Multiple bills have already been introduced this year to grant local school boards greater authority to set academic calendars.
Many school districts have in the past defied the state’s Aug. 26 academic start date. Last year, a judge voided Carteret County’s proposed calendar, which had students starting nine weekdays earlier, on Aug. 13, after a group of parents and business owners sued the school board.
“Finding compromises like this isn’t always easy, but this bill is the culmination of good-faith efforts from stakeholders and legislators,” Sen. Galey said in the same release. “With the evolution of the school choice landscape, as well as North Carolina becoming the fifth most popular state for travel and tourism, it’s time to update and adapt our school calendar law.”
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