McLean Delegate Hopeful of Earlier School Start Date

Del. Barbara Comstock (R-McLean, Great Falls, Loudoun) told a McLean Citizens Association committee this week that she's "fairly optimistic" that the Virginia state legislature will finally allow Fairfax to decide when to open its schools.

This is really a question of whether Fairfax schools can open before Labor Day. Now the county's schools open the day after Labor Day.

“We have a good shot at this this year,” she told the Education Committee at its November meeting. "I do feel that we have some significant leadership support for this."

She urged committee members to write their state representatives urging passage of the bill.

Ed Saperstein, the committee's chair said, "It would be terrific to get this Virginia law changed!" 

A spokesman for Fairfax Public School said: It has been a consistent position of the Fairfax County School Board that local school boards should have control over setting their own calendar. The Board welcomes and will support any legislation to give control over the calendar back to local school boards.

This issue is rooted in money. While Maryland and D.C. students often return to the classroom in August, a Virginia law mandates that its schools begin after Labor Day. The law is dubbed the "King's Dominion Rule" because of its strong backing by Virginia's tourism industry, because it gives families one more week to visit attractions. It also gives tourist attractions one more week before they lose student workers.

School systems can only circumvent the law if granted a state waiver. Comstock told the committee that about 50 percent of Virginia's school districts now have a waiver.

Earlier this year, the Citizens Association, McLean's unofficial town council, passed a resolution urging the state legislature to give local school boards the power to decide the starting date of its schools.

The March MCA resolution said the earlier starting date:

• Could provide students with more instructional time before the Virginia SOL tests and would better align the school calendar with various nationwide standardized testing periods, such as AP and IB exams.

• Would better align the calendar with local universities, allowing better access for students who participate in dual enrollment courses.

• Would provide greater flexibility in the event of a large number of school closings in inclement weather.

Fairfax County Public Schools surveyed parents and staff members earlier this year and found that 64 percent of 10,687 parents who responded and 71 percent of 12,562 employees who responded were in favor of beginning school before Labor Day. 

“We are cautiously optimistic that we can take care of that one this year,” said Comstock, who recently won a second term.

The Virginia legislature convenes in January. Fairfax is Virginia's largest school system and the 11th largest in the U.S. Stay tuned.