WASHINGTON — A local school district that聽has聽been lobbying to kill聽the so-called Kings Dominion Law for聽years could miss聽a chance聽to get a waiver from the rule聽that says students can’t go back to school until after Labor Day.
“On the one hand I don’t think we’re going to miss any more days because of snow,”聽says Fairfax County School Board member Jane Strauss.
Strauss says the county is one day short of being able to apply for the Kings Dominion waiver.聽 The wavier would allow Fairfax students to head back to school before Labor Day.
In Virginia, if a school district misses a certain number of days due to weather over a three year period, it聽can ask for a waiver from the rule.聽聽But it聽doesn’t just have to be just for snow; schools could be聽closed聽for other weather conditions too, such as a聽derecho.
Strauss says the school district is in the process of putting together its calendar for the new school year.
鈥淔or years, the Fairfax County聽School Board, as well as most聽school boards in Virginia,聽have lobbied聽the Virginia聽General Assembly to dump what’s called the Kings Dominion Law that forbids us from starting school before Labor Day,” she says.
The tourism industry is behind the Kings Dominion Law. Strauss says the industry聽contends if students head聽back to school before Labor Day, fewer families would be going to the beach and that would聽decrease聽revenue coming into the state from sales tax.
She says聽Labor Day is聽late this year (Sept. 7), which means a late start to the school year, and聽students will not get out until late in June.
“There are many [parents and聽students] in our community who don’t want to start as late as we’re going to have to start next year,”聽Strauss聽says.
A major聽impact, she says, on starting late is that many of the county’s聽high school students who take the AP and IB exams get short-changed on prep time.
“Our students on average are two, three weeks聽short of class time in preparing for those important tests,” she says.
She says the聽exams are set nationwide and those test dates聽don’t change.
“I know high school聽students and teachers really struggle to cover the material before exams,” she says.
