CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — During a work session on Monday afternoon, Chesterfield County School leaders discussed with school board members the possibility of moving the school start time to pre-Labor Day, as early as 2020-21 school year.
However, because a new school board will be seated in January, the current school board decided to defer making a decision until after the new board has time to look at more studies and seek public opinion.
They hope to make a decision by spring for the 2021-22 school year.
More than half of schools in the Virginia school system already start classes before Labor Day weekend
Dr. Sharon Pope, Chief Academic Officer for school system discussed some advantages of starting before Labor Day, among them, allowing AP students 2 more weeks of instruction before testing, decreasing summer learning loss and making August athletics align better with the school year.
In 2019, Virginia’s General Assembly passed new legislation amending provisions in the code of Virginia. Now, schools no longer need to seek waivers to begin the school year prior to Labor Day, except for school divisions providing year-round instructional programs.
