RALEIGH, N.C. โ North Carolina lawmakers are considering a host of bills that could reshape public school education in the state with legislation impacting how many children are in classes in lower grades, the certifications that teachers must obtain to enter the classroom and even when the school year begins.
House Bill 121 would eliminate restrictions on when school boards can set their start and end dates. That would effectively eliminate the stateโs 2004 school calendar law that required schools to start school no later than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end school no later than the Friday closest to June 11.
Some schools have had an exemption from that law โ mostly western schools that have a lot of snow days โ as well as year-round schools, low-performing โRestart Schools,โ early colleges and charter schools.ย
Schools have argued for a change so that schools can take end-of-semester exams before winter break and allow schools and families calendars to align between the K-12 school and any community college an older student might be enrolled in.
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