Union County Public Schools will defy NC law to start the 2023-2024 year early
The Union County Board of Education will defy state law and start school earlier than what state law allows for the 2023-24 school year.
Board members on Tuesday voted unanimously to go with an academic calendar with the first day of school falling on Aug. 9. The last day of school would be May 22, 2024.
“One way or another, it’s going to happen sometime. So, we might as well rip the Band-Aid off now,” board member Sandra Greene said before the vote Tuesday morning.
Superintendent Andrew Houlihan told board members he’s gotten positive feedback on the plan.
“In talking with principals and my teacher advisory council, this was widely, if not unanimously, supported,” he said.
The newly approved calendar will be posted Tuesday and sent to UCPS families, Houlihan added.
Union County joins a growing number of local districts opting to start the school year earlier than what state law allows. Union County, the sixth-largest district by student population, is the largest in the state to defy state law.
North Carolina’s calendar law requires most districts to wait until late August to bring students back. Districts can’t start earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Even if a waiver is approved, the start date can’t be earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19, according to state law.
The requirement is meant to protect the tourism industry, but it’s unpopular among many school districts. An earlier start would allow educators to give first semester exams before winter break, proponents say.
Legislators from across North Carolina for years have tried to change the state law without success. A legislative committee on Monday examined a report about changing the school calendar law to give local districts greater flexibility, the News & Observer reported.
This year, three districts near Charlotte started school early: Gaston, Cleveland and Rutherford counties. The Cabarrus County School Board this year unanimously approved an early start to the 2023-24 year. Rowan-Salisbury Schools has a special status that allows it to start early.
No time for parent input?
Victoria Vila, a UCPS parent, emailed board members Monday with concerns the calendar vote was being rushed, with little time for parents to weigh in.
“This is not the year to be shortening the summer for students who have already lost too much time to live and plan their lives due to COVID,” Vila wrote. “Students affected by shutdowns and the cancellation of summer opportunities like internships, job, camps, etc. are still cycling through the school system; I’m thinking of our high school students.”
Vila said many families already planned their summers and that the plan doesn’t take them into consideration.
Board members said during Tuesday’s meeting they would discuss the impacts of summer vacations on attendance, for both students and staff, with school principals at a January meeting.
“As we have done in the past, we will work with families on an individual basis to make sure that work is caught up, that absences are excused when possible and that we do all that we can from a teacher and a principal perspective to accommodate any family that has that issue,” Houlihan said during the meeting.
No teeth — so far
It’s unclear if the state will take action against UCPS. Districts are standing up against the state law, which was passed in 2004, partly because it doesn’t have ramifications.
Allison Schafer, general counsel to the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction, says the state board does not have a written policy for what to do if a district does not comply with calendar laws.
The calendar law itself does not provide for any sanction, so officials are limited in their enforcement authority, she said. But she also reminds school board members and superintendents they take an oath of office promising to obey all state and federal laws. Failure to do so can place them in “legal peril,” Schafer said.
Board member John Kirkpatrick brought up the legal question during Tuesday’s meeting, saying he supports the earlier start date but has concerns about potential ramifications for the district.
“I just don’t want anything to affect us or affect our students going forward,” he said.
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 10:41 AM.
