School Start Date: Montgomery County Seeks OK to Begin Before Labor Day

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County Public Schools would start a week before the holiday next year if the district can obtain a state waiver from the new mandate to begin classes after Labor Day, a move supported by parents, staff and students in the district. The decision is in contrast to polls that show a majority of Maryland residents support Gov. Larry Hogan's move to require public schools to start classes after Labor Day,

On Monday, the county’s board of education approved a resolution to adopt a 2017-2018 school calendar that would begin on Monday, Aug. 28, and would end on Thursday, June 14, 2018, if the waiver is granted. Labor Day falls on Sept. 4 in 2017.

The board has asked Superintendent Jack R. Smith to apply to the state board of education for a waiver of the start date before Labor Day. Governor Hogan’s executive order provided school districts with the option of applying for a waiver.

In August, Hogan signed an executive order requiring Maryland public schools to start classes after Labor Day and end their school year by June 15. The measure will take effect with the 2017-2018 academic year. He said nearly 75 percent of Marylanders endorsed the plan, which he said had benefits on many fronts.

"This isn't just a family issue," Hogan said when he signed the order. "It's an economic and public safety issue."

By law, Maryland students must be in school for 180 days of the year.

The Board’s preferred school calendar option is based on 184 instructional days for students. The Board is continuing to explore options for implementing a school year calendar that would begin after Labor Day and end by June 15, 2018, in case the state does not approve the waiver.

Read the memo to the Board and see the proposed calendar (option 3A)

Related:

• Maryland Governor Orders No School Before Labor Day
• Starting After Labor Day Will Snarl School Calendar: AACPS

Due to the number of snow days in recent years, some jurisdictions have tacked makeup days onto the end of the year. Others have built potential makeup days into spring break.

Harford County incorporates potential makeup days marked as such in its calendar; in 2014, Harford County Public Schools used three spring break days to account for days off from snow.

In response to Hogan's order, Anne Arundel County Public Schools issued a statement that it would be "mathematically impossible" to fit the required days of instruction into the calendar.

Worcester County, where Ocean City is located, already starts school after Labor Day. However, the school year ends June 16 for students there, which would not meet next year's executive order requiring ending by June 15.

Each local school board is responsible for setting its own calendar.