Texas Lawmaker Wants Schools to Stop Starting in August and Wait Until September

Texas Lawmaker Wants Schools to Stop Starting in August and Wait Until September

As students across Texas head back to class during some of the hottest weeks of the year, one state lawmaker is pushing to change when the school year begins.

Texas State Rep. Jared Patterson says he plans to introduce legislation that would push the beginning of the school year into September, arguing that sending students and teachers back during the peak of the Texas summer simply doesn’t make sense.

Patterson says teachers should not return until September 1, with students returning after that. He argues schools could make up the difference by remaining in session later into May or even early June.

Among his concerns are student-athlete safety, the cost of cooling school buildings during extreme summer temperatures, the impact on the state’s electrical grid and the economic effects of cutting summer short.

U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman has also backed the idea, advocating for schools to begin the Tuesday after Labor Day and end around Memorial Day weekend.

Texas law currently generally prohibits schools from beginning instruction before the fourth Monday in August. However, numerous districts are able to start earlier through exemptions available to Districts of Innovation and certain alternative calendars.

Some Texas students returned to school as early as July this year, while many others began classes during the first half of August.

Supporters of earlier school calendars argue the additional flexibility allows districts to provide more instructional days, address learning loss and schedule additional breaks throughout the year.

Patterson, however, wants Texas to reconsider whether putting students back in classrooms during the hottest part of summer is worth those benefits.

His proposal has not become law, and school calendars have not changed. Patterson says legislation addressing the issue is coming, setting up another debate over whether the traditional American summer break should make a comeback in Texas.

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