IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Iredell-Statesville School District leaders decided when to start the next school year.
The district's board of education voted on Tuesday to have school start on Aug. 12, 2024, and end on May 23, 2025. This plan violates North Carolina law, which says schools can't start before Aug. 26.
The other plan would have followed state law and started school on Aug. 26, 2024, and ended the school year on June 25, 2025.
Last year, the school district violated the state law by starting the school year early.
Several school districts across the region have started school before that set start date, including Cabarrus, Gaston, Stanly, Cleveland, Iredell-Statesville and Lincoln County. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore has previously encouraged districts to do so, saying he favors more flexibility for districts and letting parents have input in the process.
WCNC Charlotte's VERIFY team previously reached out to the NC Department of Public Instruction to see if there are any consequences for school districts that violate that state law. The department provided the following response:
"The State Board does not have a written policy or procedure, or administrative rule that would address what action it can or may take if a local school district does not comply with state calendar laws. The calendar law itself does not provide for any sanction, and the State Board and Department of Public Instruction are therefore limited in their enforcement authority and ability to address this issue."