CMS apart of House Bill that will would give districts flexibility on start dates
There is new insight into the effort to give local school districts the ability to start classes whenever they want.
Lawmakers have passed at least two bills that would impact school districts in our area, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Several districts have approved calendar changes that ignore state law. In the last 24 hours, there has been a lot of movement in the state legislature to give districts more control. A State House Committee passed four different school calendar bills.
CMS was added to one of the bills: House Bill 106. It would allow them to start school as early as August 11. CMS looks to start school on August 15. The bills would now have to pass the Senate.
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“CMS’s specific request is let us marry up with the community colleges, which would be roughly around August 15th,” said Charles Jeter of CMS.
Parents filed a lawsuit against the Union County Board of Education and its board members in January saying the district violated the law when adopting the district’s new school calendar. The board later voted, 6-3, to rescind its calendar change that would have started school earlier each year.
House Bill 106 is a local bill because it doesn’t not impact more than 15 counties, Jeter told Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe. If it passes the Senate, it’s law, and the governor does not have a say on local bills.
Jeter said an earlier start would allow students to complete first semester exams before winter break and not after, like they currently do.
“We think it has an impact on their scores, data shows that students who take these exams before winter break have higher scores,” Jeter said.
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However, parents considering changes to summer break told Lowe there are factors that are just as important.
“Depending on when he’s due back in school, that definitely plays a part in that,” parent Josh Bays said.
Jeter added that if House Bill 106 becomes law, it won’t likely have an impact until the 2024-25 school year. House Bill 51 includes Gaston County schools. Local school districts would determine when it opens and closes the school year.
Other districts could also see impacts to their school calendars.
House Bill 115 is headed to the Senate and includes Burke County Public Schools, Catawba County Schools, Cleveland County Schools, Hickory Public Schools, and Newton-Conover City Schools. It would allow school districts to decide when they want to open and close the district.
House Bill 86 is statewide and allows school to start by Aug. 11.
State Senate President Phil Berger said Tuesday he thinks school calendar bills are not the answer. Instead, he would like to strengthen the current law for school districts that ignore it.
(WATCH BELOW: Union County school board votes, 6-3, to rescind school calendar change)
