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School districts receive waivers to start early

school bus photo
Jared and Corin via Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0
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wikimedia.org

Students might need to change their Labor Day weekend plans. This fall, 50 school districts will have a new, earlier start date.

Since 2005, the state has banned public schools from starting before Labor Day without a waiver.

But a new mandate means an extra week of school next year. And some districts worry that will mean meeting further into the hot summer months.

Now, 50 school districts have the OK to start before Labor Day.

The new calendar requirement isn’t the only reason school districts want to start earlier. Districts with college credit programs, like Okemos and Rockford, want their schedules to line up with the colleges in their area.

Michigan’s tourism industry pushed for the post-Labor Day start.

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