Bill By Alabama Lawmaker Aims To Push Back Start Of School Year

MONTGOMERY, AL - A significant number of students in Alabama's public schools started back to school this week, and the students who didn't start this week will start next week. There was a time not long ago when schools didn't start until after Labor Day. Those days are gone, but one Alabama lawmaker said he would like to see them return.

Rep. Craig Ford of Gadsden said in a recent Facebook post that he plans to reintroduce legislation that would require schools start no earlier than two weeks before Labor Day. Ford pointed out that in 2012, the state legislature passed a School Start Date bill that mandated a longer summer break for our public schools. But then the legislature failed to renew it, and the state did not get to feel the maximum benefits of the law.

"Shortening summer vacation to only two months hurts Alabama families," Ford said in his post. "Kids no longer get to spend August playing, going to camp or doing some last minute reading. Families miss out on important, quality vacation time together (and with both of my kids now grown and out of the house, I can tell you those family vacations are precious while they last!)."

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Extra vacation and fun time for students is not the only reason behind Ford's bill, he said. Ford also said shortening the summer vacation negatively affects teachers and students who have summer jobs. "For teachers and other educators, the summer months are the only time they can do any professional development work, such as taking classes for an advanced degree or participating in training programs that help them learn more effective methods for teaching various subjects," Ford said.

"Older students, and even some teachers, use those summer months to work summer jobs that help them learn important skills and make some extra money that some families rely on," he added. "A study by the Association of American Educators revealed one in five teachers work a second job."

Ford introduced similar legislation in the last legislative session but it failed to make it out of committee.

Photo Credit: Cultura/Shutterstock

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