Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is considering pursuing a waiver to allow the school system to open a week before Labor Day starting with the 2012-13 school year.
The school system is seeking feedback from parents about the idea. Click here to take FCPS' online survey. The survey period ends Jan. 24.
While Maryland and DC students often return to the classroom in August, a state law mandates that Virginia schools begin after Labor Day. The law is dubbed the "King's Dominion Rule" because of its strong backing by Virginia's tourism industry, which approves of the law because it gives families one more week to visit attractions. It also gives tourist attractions one more week before they have to lose student workers.
School systems can only circumvent the law if granted a rare state waiver (none of the Northern Virginia districts have one this year) most definitely do not love the law. They believe local start dates should be left up to local districts.
Paul Regnier, spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools, told Patch last summer a request to allow the county to set its start date is a perennial in the school system's legislative package – the list of items it would like from Richmond.
Carla Burr
7:52 am on Saturday, January 15, 2011
When I was growing up, we always went back to school before Labor Day and I think it is a travesty for VA to even have such a law delaying the school start date because of an amusement park and a few extra dollars in that parks' pocket. It really shows where Virginia's priorities lie. For one of the most conservative states in the union to be this entrenched so as to even make a law regarding the public school start date, seems like a waste of time for lawmakers and a huge waste of our tax dollars. I think the law should be repealed and allow the Counties to set their own start dates. The State of Virginia lawmakers should concern themselves with other, more important issues like, traffic, education of our young people, crime, etc. REPEAL THE LAW!
Neil Freuen
11:55 am on Saturday, January 15, 2011
Let the parents decide when to start school for their children.
Jeff Carter
12:23 pm on Sunday, January 16, 2011
Leave it as it is. Why open school for a week, just to have a 3-day weekend? Many families travel the week before so they can enjoy the long weekend. As for lawmakers having better things to do with their time - agreed. The law is already on the books and won't get further discussion unless people want it repealed, in which case they'll have to open debate and waste their time talking about it instead of working on those other important issues.