CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Several local school districts in our area will head back into the classroom in just a few weeks. These districts start their school before the start date set in place by North Carolina law. We received several questions from parents asking us whether school districts that violate the law will face consequences.
Several emails from parents and teachers have been sent to our VERIFY team asking if there are any consequences for school districts that don't abide by North Carolina's school calendar law.
SOURCES:
WHAT WE FOUND:
The state statute said North Carolina schools can have a start date no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26th and an end date no later than the Friday closest to June 11th. However, there are some exceptions, and they're listed on your screen.
Every June, each school district sends the General Assembly its calendar for the upcoming school year. When we went through that list, we found eight school districts in our area starting earlier than the state statute allows.
- Cabarrus County Schools
- Gaston County Schools
- Rutherford County Schools
- Stanly County Schools
- Cleveland County Schools
- Iredell-Statesville Schools
- Kannapolis City Schools
- Lincoln County Schools
Some gave reasons, for example, saying the school board voted in favor of the early start, while others didn't provide any excuse at all.
So we emailed the NC Department of Public Instruction asking if there are any consequences for districts that violate the law. They told us:
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.
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DPI also told our Verify team individuals or groups can bring lawsuits against local boards to require compliance with the law.
That's exactly what two parents from Union County did back in January after that school district approved a calendar with a start date of August 9th. The Lawsuit asked a judge to prevent the school board from enforcing a calendar that violated state statutes.
Union County school board members ultimately rescinded that start date and approved a new calendar with classes beginning in late August, in accordance with the law.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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