LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Summer break never feels quite long enough for students and teachers. However, are districts really going back early this year?
Before 2021, the law stated that school must start between August 14 and August 26.
Then in 2021, the state passed a law that changed that, saying that school could not start more than two weeks before Labor Day— that would be the earliest point.
However, State Representative Julie Mayberry said that was quickly short-lived.
“We had school districts across the state not like that. [They] were all asking for waivers on it and they pretty much came to us and said please fix this. Let’s go back to the way it was," she explained.
In January of 2023, House Bill 1122 was passed, co-sponsored by Representative Mayberry.
The bill stated in part “The first day of school for student attendance in public elementary and secondary schools shall be on or after the Monday of the week in which August 19 falls, not earlier than August 14, and not later than August 26.”
“We wanted to get on top of it right away because school districts were starting to make their calendars," Mayberry explained. "They were anxiously awaiting something to come from us to say it’s ok to go back to the way it was.”
Representative Mayberry believes the change back is pivotal for districts to have a little bit of freedom when choosing.
“We want to give flexibility to school districts when to start. Every school is different, and we want to give local control, so people are making the decisions there,” she added.