When students return to school in a few weeks it will be a later date than usual thanks to a new law that the state legislature passed last spring.
Under the new law, school districts will have to meet an instructional hours requirement of 1,080 hours for the entire year. By changing the requirement from days to hours, that meant that some school districts would have to adjust their calendars.
"As with any educational policy issue there is always pushback" said Dr. Tommy Bice, Alabama's Schools Superintendent. "But in the end, it's a law and our schools are going to comply with the law."
Of the 134 school districts in the state, 99 of them will have 180 instructional days which equates to an average of six instructional hours per day.
The smallest number of instructional days among the state's school systems, 173, will be the amount in four systems. Those schools will have 6.24 hours of instruction each day.
On the parody across the state Dr. Bice said, "That's exactly how we wanted it to be. Each individual community, even within this new parameter has the ability to look at what's right for their community and build a calendar accordingly."
Bice said when the new law passed there was a misunderstanding of what changing a calendar really meant. He said there was a number of "moving parts" that had to be considered including bus routes and before and after school activities.
The law was pushed by lawmakers from Alabama's Gulf Coast region who argued extending the summer by a few days would lead to much needed tax revenue for the state. They said more days of summer meant more time for people in Alabama to enjoy Alabama's beaches.
Lawmakers in North Alabama fought hard to block the piece of legislation with several long filibusters. They argued it was a local issue and the state should have no place in dictating when certain schools begin and end.
The law provided flexibility for schools to begin close to August 20th. Some schools used to start shortly after the beginning of August before the law took effect.
Even with all of the controversy that erupted during the legislative session, Dr. Bice said, "Every school in Alabama will start either on the 20th or shortly thereafter according to the new law and it's a non-issue for us at the moment."
The law is not permanent. It will expire at the end of the school year that begins in August of 2015.
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