Guidance Document Change: Revisions to the Guidelines for Considering and Approving Requests for Pre-Labor Day Openings are needed to comport with HB 1652 and SB 1005, which were approved by the 2019 General Assembly. These bills permit all school divisions to begin school up to 14 days before Labor Day, effective July 1, 2019. This legislation also eliminates all of the existing “good cause” waivers and permits the Board to provide “good cause” waivers for school divisions providing year-round instructional programs, applicable only to the opening date for the schools in the division that are providing year-round programs.
Amendments are proposed to the Guidelines to align with the legislative changes, including:
• Removing all guidelines related to the “good cause” waivers that are no longer permitted by law.
• Establishing guidelines for the Board to grant “good cause” waivers for school divisions providing a year-round instructional program, and delegating the authority to grant such waivers to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Commenter:
Roseann Liberatore
Do not start school earlier. Keep it the day after Labor Day
