School Calendar Policy Change Explained By Falls Church School Board

FALLS CHURCH, VA — After the Falls Church City School Board approved a new school calendar policy, a letter to families explains the impacts to the Falls Church City Public Schools calendar.

In October, the School Board voted 6-1 on the guidelines for creating future school year calendars. The new policy will prompt the School Board to approve two calendars for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years in December. Calendars will then be approved annually in future Decembers.

The School Board explained in a new letter to FCCPS families that the policy has three major impacts: an earlier school year start, alignment with more federal holidays, and removing closures for several religious holidays.

School years will start earlier as the new policy requires the first day to be two weeks before Labor Day. The school year currently starts one week before Labor Day, unlike neighboring Fairfax County Public Schools. The calendar change seeks to make the school year end no later than June 10.

School Board leaders said in the letter that the earlier start has academic and extracurricular benefits for students.

"Over the last few years, we received significant feedback from families of our younger students that preferred more routine to be established before entering into the state-mandated four-day holiday around Labor Day," Chair Laura Downs and Vice Chair Tate Gould wrote. "Starting earlier is also academically beneficial for our students in grades three and up who take state and national exams administered in May and our secondary students who take IB and AP exams in the spring."

The letter also noted some secondary activities like fall sports start at the beginning of August, per state requirements.

The new policy provides days off on the Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day and Veterans Day federal holidays. School Board leaders voted many families work for federal agencies that observe the federal holidays, and some FCCPS staff have children in surrounding districts that observe the holidays.

The other major change means schools will no longer close for the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh holiday of Diwali, and Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr.

School board leaders noted the added burden on parents who had to take off work or find child care for their children on the days off.

"This was a difficult decision, given the potential impact on our families of marginalized faiths who felt having these holidays honored made them feel seen and supported," Downs and Gould wrote. "We are fully aware of the frustration, confusion, and hurt this policy has caused some families impacted by this reversal."

The religious holidays were addressed in new regulations on school calendar religious holidays presented by Superintendent Peter Noonan. Under the policy, verified student absences will not be penalized on the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali and Eid al-Fitr religious holidays, and tests and special events will not be scheduled on those days. A case-by-case allowance for other religious holidays can be coordinated with school principals. Noonan is also providing FCCPS staff with two days of religious leave in addition to their personal leave.

The School Board discussed the new school calendar policy at seven meetings since May. Stay up to date with the School Board's calendar approval in December on the School Board meetings website.