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INDIANAPOLIS – A legislative panel studying uniform school start dates declined to take a position on the issue in its final report Monday, instead choosing further review.
But there is no timeline for additional study – something that frustrated one member of the Interim Study Committee on Education.
“When will there be a resolution?” asked Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury.
He noted the committee spent the summer working and he drove hours to attend the meetings and yet nothing was accomplished.
“I’m extremely frustrated,” Yoder said.
The committee took testimony last month and has heard from hundreds of Hoosiers on the issue of when Indiana schools should start the academic year.
Many parents are concerned the school year is starting too early in August and is intruding on summer vacations. Some noted additional breaks that are being built into the calendar and that schools could save on utility costs by going longer in May instead of starting back so early in August.
Right now, the decision is left to individual districts, with many starting in early to mid-August. Schools say it’s necessary to meet the state’s 180-day instructional requirement.
Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, said he is interested to see whether there are energy and transportation savings to be found without diminishing the length of the school year. But he said he is very wary about implementing a uniform start date.
“It needs to be handled at the local level,” he said, noting there is a lot to take into consideration – including extra-curricular schedules and agreements between teachers and local districts. “I don’t believe one size fits all on this issue.”
Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, had previously proposed two recommendations on the issue but didn’t offer them Monday. One would have required schools to start no earlier than the fourth Monday in August; the second would have required schools to start no earlier than the first Monday after Labor Day.
He said there was not enough support on the committee for either of the proposals. He won’t offer a bill this session on the issue, but he said he thinks another lawmaker will.
