FCPS approves 2017-18 school year calendar
December 16, 2016
The Fairfax County School Board approved Fairfax County Public Schools’s operating calendar for the 2017-2018 school year on Dec. 1. The new calendar includes a start of school before Labor Day, a decision which has proved controversial to both community and business interests.
Traditionally, enforcement of the “Kings Dominion Law” has prevented Virginia schools from starting before Labor Day. The long-standing law is meant to increase economic activity in Virginia theme parks, including Kings Dominion. Recently, the law has been targeted for repeal in the Virginia General Assembly, but such efforts have failed so far.
Despite the requirements of the Kings Dominion Law, FCPS qualified for a waiver from the Virginia Department of Education to start schools before Labor Day. FCPS received the waiver due to years of inclement weather plaguing the county’s schools with numerous closures and delays.
In order to decide whether FCPS should open schools prior to Labor Day, the school system sent an email survey to both parents and staff members in March-April 2016. The survey garnered over 40,000 parent responses and 14,000 staff responses.
Sentiment in favor of a pre-Labor Day start was mixed among parents. Approximately 53 percent of surveyed parents supported a start before Labor Day, while 47 percent opposed it.
FCPS staff, however, was clearly in favor of the pre-Labor Day start, with 64 percent of respondents affirmatively responding to a pre-Labor Day start to school.
FCPS did not survey students about the potential for a pre-Labor Day start. However, there are many students who both support and oppose the idea.
“I don’t think it matters much. As long as the total number of school days are relatively the same, everything should be comparatively unchanged,” junior Austin Zhang said.
Despite the support, a sizable opposition to the pre-Labor Day start exists among the student body.
“Starting earlier is just going to ruin [the summer]…Cutting down summer break even by a week is just terrible,” junior Romy Boortalary said.
Although the controversy over the Labor Day start has dominated conversation about the 2017-2018 school year calendar, the calendar also contains other new features.
The last day of school is slated for Jun. 15, one week earlier than previous years.
FCPS has also continued with a two-week winter break, from Dec. 18 to Jan. 1.
FCPS claims that its new calendar gives its staff and students more flexibility and more time to learn curricular content.
According to the FCPS website, “changes are being made to provide more instructional time…, enhance flexibility…, and to end the school year earlier in June.”
Details of the FCPS calendar can be viewed here.
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