Click to return to the News Release Page

Release Date
August 14, 2002

For More Information Contact
Tina Bruno @ 210-559-5277

***Click here to view a shorter version of this article***

One in five Texas students starting school early
Most districts following new law;
handful circumvent Senate Bill 108

About one out of five Texas schoolchildren were told to report to class before August 19 this school year, despite a new state law calling for school to start no earlier than the week of August 21.

The vast majority of Texas districts, 92.5 percent, followed the law without objection for the 2002-03 school year. But the handful of districts that requested earlier start dates enroll approximately 19 percent of Texas’ student population, or more than 186,600 students.

Leaders in some of these districts appeared to defy community support for a later school start date and ignored credible research that proves the configuration of a school calendar has no impact on academic performance. 

The law, Senate Bill 108, which sailed through the Legislature last year, was designed to give parents more say in the school calendar process. However, parents were never heard in many districts.

The law’s supporters say the problem lies in the presumption that school board members listen to the voices of the community, and the vagueness of the bill’s wording. 

“Parents were very excited when the bill passed,” said Tina Bruno, executive director of Texans for a Traditional School Year, a grass roots organization of 16,000 families concerned about the negative impact of the early August school start date on families, teachers and students.  “After years of fighting with school boards over the school start date, SB 108 gently reminded school board members about the meaning of local control – listening to the locals – meaning the community.”

“It’s important to note that this law is a real success, with 14 out of 15 school districts in the state following it this school year,” said state Senator and bill author Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville). “But we’re hearing from a lot of parents that the decision to start school earlier was made without their input, which clearly violates the spirit of the law. That has to change.”

In the past decade, Texas school districts moved away from the traditional post-Labor Day start of school, with some holding classes as early as the first week of August. Officials gave many reasons for this calendar experiment, but the most common refrain was that administrators wanted students to have a head start in preparing for the state-mandated exam, which was known as the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. 

Internationally recognized education researcher Gene V. Glass, of Arizona State University, recently released a report based on 20 years of studies on school calendars. He concluded that the configuration of a school calendar has no impact on academic achievement.

A look at Texas campuses named national Blue Ribbon Schools this year falls in line with Glass’ research. Fewer than half of the Texas’ Blue Ribbon Schools started school in 2001 before August 15. One in five of the schools started on August 21 or later.

Many parents and educators complained that the awkward schedule cut short family vacations, hurt summer employment opportunities for teen-agers and hindered professional development for teachers. When school boards ignored them, frustrated constituents turned their attention to the state capital. 

In all, 79 school districts received waivers. In at least 16 of those districts, fewer than a dozen people attended the school board hearing seeking community input on starting school earlier. This includes Lamar Consolidated, which has a student population of more than 16,000, and where only one person attended the hearing. Twice as many citizens, or two people, were at the meeting in the Aldine ISD, which enrolls more than 53,000 students.

In some cases, hearings were held at inconvenient times, or pubic input didn’t matter. For example, the Plano ISD sought a waiver for this school year. The Dallas Morning News reported that the majority of people in Plano who expressed an opinion regarding the school calendar were opposed to the waiver. But the school board voted 7-0 in support of the waiver and TEA granted it.

In Beaumont, school officials held their public hearing on an early school start date on the same evening as sixth-grade orientation. Parents had to choose between attending an event with their child or attending a public hearing. 

Lewisville ISD failed to place an advertisement in the newspaper announcing the public hearing, as clearly stated in the law, but willingly told local news media about their intentions. Other districts previously had been told that news stories were not what the law required, and were instructed to resubmit their waiver requests after running an ad and holding a new hearing.

TEA granted Lewisville ISD a waiver from the advertisement requirement and then gave the district a school calendar waiver.

This was not the case in most school districts, according to Bruno. Several parents reported that local officials polled parents and promptly dropped plans to seek a waiver once they learned the idea was unpopular. 

Supporters of SB 108, however, are concerned that without clearer guidelines, more school administrators will try to return to the status quo.

“The public asked for a later school start date, and the law gives the local population the flexibility to ask for an earlier one. But one or two people shouldn’t be considered the voice of a population,” Lucio said. “School boards and administrators should trust that parents will do what’s best for their children, and give them every opportunity to be heard on this important issue.”

Larry Forbes, a parent from Arlington, added that the burden of proof should be placed on the school board to show they have the support of the majority of their community for an earlier school start date.  

“In law, the group or party asking for relief assumes the burden of proof.  School boards should be held to the same standard,” Forbes said.

###

Editor’s Note:  For more information on school calendar experiments or Senate Bill 108, contact Texans for a Traditional School Year toll free at 877-531-9011.