Important if school start before or after Labour day. What is important, is how children spend their summer break. Parents should require their children, to read at least one book, every 2 weeks. Especially the classics, such as Robin Hood, Little women, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Call of the Wild, Robinson Crusoe, and so on. Even kids who work, during the summer has time to read a few books. Parents should also see to it, that their kids, review their old school materials, such as tests,notes,and homework. That will give them a leg up, for the following year. Children shouldn't be allowed, to go on their summer break. And forget everything they learned the previous year.

As a teacher myself I ask you to consider a few things about the proposed change. First 180 days is a 180 days reguardless of when we start it. Second most high school seniors check out mentally after Spring Break or if we're lucky around Memorial Day. Third in response to our summer break and summer jobs, colleges go back in August (ODU 8/25, UVA 8/23, TCC 8/23, CNU 8/22)just to name a few. Places like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens are staying open well into the school calendar. Not to mention lawn and garden type jobs are based on the weather not a specific date on the calendar. Final point the proposed change would not make it a requirement to open early it would simply give the individual school divisions the option without having to jump thro

Here's an idea. Why not let the local school districts decide when to start and end school days, so long as requisite number of instruction days met? How about it all you Republicans out there who supposedly support smaller gov't? If we want smaller fed gov't shouldn't we want less intrusive state gov't as well?

You'll support it now but when you are on vacation and have to cut it short, you will not be pleased.

Opening school before Labor Day is productive. The SOLs are given in May, 3 weeks before schools are finished for the year. Starting earlier would require schools to let out earlier, but the instructional time before the SOL Tests is longer. Every additional day for instruction before the SOL Tests allows the teachers to teach their subjects. Right now teachers lose 3 weeks of instruction because of the SOL Testing in May. A longer school year is not required, just adjust the instructional time before the SOL Tests and have the school year end immediately following the tests.

There is no reason for school to open before Labor Day, as the school year is too long as it is. School districts need to look at curtailing the half school days, teacher work days, staff development training days, extra days in holiday breaks, etc. and increasing the length of the school day instead to get more instruction time. The school year needs to end not more than 10 days after Memorial Day, so that kids can get to their summer jobs. Every summer job I had started the following Monday after school got out on Friday. In addition, the teachers will not sign off on starting earlier, since that means more contract days and school districts probable won’t have the money to pay them for more contact days.

It's not how much time student spend in school, it what they are taught and learn while there.

What I've seen is that when the SOL's are complete in late May, many teacher's just allow the students to goof off the remainder of the year. I asked about this one year and was replied to with, "Well the SOL's are over!".