After many years, school calendars for Clay County Schools may return to starting later and ending later in the school year. Senate Bill 170, which was primarily sponsored by North Carolina Senator Kevin Corbin, adopts a new school calendar in multiple western North Carolina counties beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.
Clay Schools Superintendent Dale Cole said the bill is important because it would allow Clay Schools to create a school calendar which allows for state exams to be given prior to Christmas break. In addition, it would give Clay County Schools and other local schools the ability to align their school calendars with the schedule of Tri-County Community College, or their own local community college.
“Research shows that there is always learning loss over extended breaks,” Cole said. “Students will perform better if they take exams before the break, leading to more accurate assessment of learning.”
Cole added, “Aligning our calendar to the Tri-County Community College schedule is a big deal due to the number of our students that take courses there. Some of our students do not have internet access at home, so they need access to our schools for that access. Currently, Tri-County Community College classes begin three weeks before ours do and end three weeks earlier.”
The bill entitled, “An Act to Provide Local Boards of Education Flexibility in Adopting the School Calendar in Multiple Counties,” has several key components. Local boards of education may decide the opening and closing dates of the public schools. “Except for year-round schools, the opening date for students shall be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11, “ the bill reads.
Local boards may choose to begin school earlier if the reasons shown are for “good cause.” For example, if school has been closed eight days per year during any four of the previous ten years due to severe weather, energy shortages, power failures or other emergency situations, it could be considered good cause to adjust the dates.
Then the North Carolina State Board of Education may waive the requirement for students’ opening to be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and may allow a local school board to set an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 19. Planned school calendars must allow sufficient days to accommodate makeup days due to school closings. The bill does have some exceptions to the earliest and latest date rule.
Along with Clay County Schools, the new act is only applicable to Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Cherokee County Schools, Graham County Schools, Haywood County Schools, Jackson