The Iowa Senate has voted to let local school officials decide when the fall semester may begin. Governor Terry Branstad’s education director issued a memo in December telling school districts no more automatic waivers would be granted. It means schools must follow state law and start during the week in which September 1st falls. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Demcorat from Ames, says that “one-size-fits-all” approach doesn’t work.
Republicans in the Iowa House have drafted a different plan to resolve this fight over the school start date. A bill that would set “on or after August 23rd” as the time frame for starting the fall semester cleared a House committee in mid-February. Senator Dick Dearden, a Democrat from Des Moines, calls that the real compromise rather than the senate bill which would give school boards the sole authority to make the starting date decision.
Under the new Department of Education guidelines, schools would have to start the fall semester on Monday, August 31st this fall.
