Bill would let NC schools start earlier in August. What about the tourism industry?
North Carolina’s tourism industry is agreeing to let schools start classes a week earlier in August as part of a plan that also increases penalties for violating the state’s school calendar law.
Legislation filed Tuesday by state Senate Republican leaders would allow school districts to open the school year as early as the Monday closest to Aug. 19. But Senate Bill 754 also imposes penalties for not following the school calendar law such as loss of state funding and allowing school boards to be sued by local business owners.
Senate leader Phil Berger is one of the bill’s primary sponsors. The Rockingham County Republican has annually blocked the Senate from approving changes to the school calendar law.
Berger told reporters Wednesday that the bill represents a “significant compromise on the part of the travel and tourism folks.”
Berger’s backing means the bill is likely to get approved by the Senate. The bill’s other primary sponsors are Alamance County Republican Amy Galey and New Hanover County Republican Michael Lee.
Berger credited Galey for working on the compromise, saying she talked with both the travel and tourism industry and the N.C. School Boards Association.
Berger said the bill addresses “what I understand is the excuse that we hear from the schools, that they want to align with the community colleges; they want to do exams before Christmas break.”
He said the bill should take care of both of those concerns by starting a week earlier.
“And I’m hopeful we can just put this to rest,” Berger said.
Will starting school earlier in August help districts?
State lawmakers have regulated school calendars for more than 20 years, since the tourism industry raised concerns about classes starting earlier in August.
The state’s traditional public schools can’t open sooner than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 or close later than the Friday closest to June 11. The calendar law doesn’t apply to private schools, charter schools, year-round schools and early college high schools.
The state House annually passes school calendar flexibility bills that die in the Senate.
Under the new Senate bill, school districts can start the Monday closest to Aug. 19 as long as they end the school year on the Friday before Memorial Day. Schools would have to have an equal number of days in the fall and spring semester if they use this option.
One of the major reasons that school districts have lobbied for calendar flexibility is to start the school year earlier so high school students can take fall semester final exams before Christmas. It’s not clear if schools would be able to do that only starting classes one week earlier.
Leanne Winner, executive director of the N.C. School Boards Association, said Wednesday that the group is still reviewing the legislation.
Penalties created for defying school calendar law
Statewide, a quarter of North Carolina’s school districts are defying the school calendar law by starting in mid-August. One of the reasons so many don’t follow the law is that there’s no enforcement mechanism.
But under the new bill, The State Board of Education would withhold central office funding to school districts that are not following the calendar law. Districts get state funding to help cover their central office costs.
State lawmakers could also step in to punish those districts.
“The General Assembly shall consider, no later than the next session of the General Assembly, the future governance of the identified public school unit,” the bill says.
In addition, the legislation says business owners living in a school district that’s not following the calendar law can file a lawsuit. The court can issue an injunction against the school district, award the business owner’s attorney fees and costs and impose a civil penalty of up to $15,000 on the school board.
Last year, the Carteret County school board backed off from defying the calendar law after a lawsuit was filed by business owners in the coastal tourism community.
Tourism industry supports plan
The tourism industry is supporting the bill.
“Finding compromises like this isn’t always easy, but this bill is the culmination of good-faith efforts from stakeholders and legislators,” Galey said in a statement when the bill was filed. “With the evolution of the school choice landscape, as well as North Carolina becoming the fifth most popular state for travel and tourism, it’s time to update and adapt our school calendar law.”
Vince Chelena, executive director of the North Carolina Travel Industry Association, said they’re content overall with the legislation.
“It took some work to get small businesses in agreement, but the bill provides something everyone needs; an extra week for testing and the reliability of a schedule that families and small businesses can rely upon,” Chelena said in an email. “We hope that the General Assembly and the Governor concurs. Opportunities like this are rare. “
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Bill would let NC schools start earlier in August. What about the tourism industry?."
