School forced to start later for years to come?

by Andrea Farrington

In the state of Iowa, the tourism industry is trying to make it so that schools in Iowa are not able to start school earlier than the last Monday in Aug. because schools have been starting earlier in Aug. and it has been a problem for families going to the state fair.  

The bill has recently passed the state House and has moved on to the Senate for voting. 

Currently the law requires schools to start on Sept. 1, but schools have the opportunity to get a state waiver if they would like to start early and most often receive permission.  

The new law would still allow schools to pay a $100 waiver fee, but the earliest they could start is the last Monday in Aug.  Last year. some schools were starting as early as Aug. 15.

I personally think it is a great idea for the state of Iowa to make it so no school can interrupt the state fair. I understand that a student’s education is very important, but at the same time the Iowa State Fair is just as important to lots of families who participate in events. FFA members in the fair are likely to win scholarships that will be going to further their education. 

Starting later this fall does raise the possibility that we will be going further into the summer. Other schools have gone until the end of June, and they were fine. I know I have always been upset about having to leave the fair to go school, therefore I completely agree with this bill.