Late start for the school year proposal stirring up controversy

Statehouse could withhold funding for schools that start before September 3rd

““Bills that reduce the flexibility of that local control are cause for concern.” 

– Loveland City School Superintendent, Dr. Amy Crouse

Loveland, Ohio – School starting after September 3^rd? Well I’m sure the students wouldn’t mind!

The Ohio General Assembly Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 549 would both require the state to hold education funds if school districts started their school year before September 3^rd. The bills do state that schools would be able to make the decision to start before September 3rd, without losing any state funding, only if the school board of that particular district held a public hearing 30 days before the decision would be put into action.

Local School Openings for 2018

Loveland: August 21

Milford: August 15

Little Miami: August 13

Kings: August 15

Sycamore: August 15

Loveland City School Superintendent, Dr. Amy Crouse strongly supports the local decision-making ability of the Board of Education.

“Bills that reduce the flexibility of that local control are cause for concern,” Crouse said when asked her opinion on the two bills, “Planning the school calendar takes into consideration many factors and the school boards need to be able to respond to changing local and state factors that might impact the student experience.”

The majority of the School District Business Administrators as well as Ohio’s Superintendent Association oppose the bill stating that it gets in the way of the boards required “local flexibility” in meeting the educational needs of the students.

“Some factors are ‘fixed’ that we need to consider. These include things like: Fall sports schedules, increasing student instructional time prior to testing dates for Advanced Placement courses, ACT, or state assessments, planning around holiday breaks, the number of day or hours required by the state, and the number of days in staff contracts. Some factors are locally driven like planning for weather, construction projects, or local community needs,” Crouse said.

Read the Senate version S. B. No. 34

State Bill 34 states that it will not make any adjustments to the state’s testing schedule or make any decisions in regards to the school’s calendars. According to Crouse, “The impact of any school start date is reflected in the number of days provided at holiday break times and in the date for the last day of school.”

A whopping 59 percent of Ohio residents, according to a poll taken by The Ohio Travel Association, supports Ohio schools starting after September 3rd and preferably on the same day to get a sense of uniformity across the state. Ohio residents agree that the later start date would not only benefit students with summer jobs and internships, but also family vacations.

Read the House version House Bill 549_00_IN

One of the most interesting statistics pointed out by voters in this poll is that 71 percent claimed that teaching students in the August heat is actually more detrimental to their learning than helpful. Ohio teachers agreed with the voters adding that starting school before Labor Day would be detrimental to their learning as well because they would no longer have as much time to pursue advance degrees and added training over the summer. Unfortunately, advanced learning would also be hard for students seeking college course credits because their high school schedule would no longer align with Ohio’s University schedules.

With all the pressure being put on the Ohio General Assembly to make a decision on this controversial matter there’s no doubt that a decision will be made sooner than later. Loveland residents can only hope that the final decision made benefits those that matter most; the students and the teachers.

Want to contact the State House to weigh in on the pending bills?

These are the House members representing the 45140 zip code. Click the image to contact them.

Contact your Ohio Senator

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