SUMMARY: The individual school districts are best positioned to determine the school calendar that is in the best interest of their student and parent population. Iowa Code 279.10 should be modified to remove State control of the school calendar.

Detail:

Iowa Code 279.10 (a 1983 law) dictates that the start of school shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls.  Iowa Code 279.10 also provides a method for districts to seek waivers that permit school to start earlier upon demonstration of a "significant negative educational impact" to starting school as stated in Iowa Code.

In 2013, 341 out of 348 Iowa school districts requested and were granted this waiver. Waivers were routinely granted by the State nearly automatically with no material demonstration of "significant negative educational impact."

On December 12, 2014, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad requested that Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck stop granting automatic waivers and instead require a demonstration of "sigificant negative educational impact" in order to receive a waiver. Brad Buck acquiesced to the Governor and informed districts that the law would be followed as written.

It is reasonable for the Iowa Governor to instruct the Department of Education to follow the law as written.

However, equally reasonable, is the realization that a 1983 law in which 98% of Iowa school districts feel justified in seeking a waiver from, no longer meets the collective needs of Iowa school districts and students.

A 31 year old law has little relevance to the issues facing individual districts in determining what is best for their students. There is also no longer a singular definition of what is best for students. No individual district's definition is more important than any other district's definition. This law must be changed.

This petition seeks to inform the Iowa House and Senate that the petitioners believe that the best interest of students is best determined by the local school districts, the board of education of those districts as elected by the parents in  those districts and the superintendents hired by those boards. The Iowa Statehouse is not in a position to determine a singular best interest of district students in our small towns, our cities, our major metropolitan areas and everything in between.

Iowa Code 279.10 should be reformed and modernized to give local district control to the school calendar start dates, allowing those districts to meet the unique needs of their student population.