Public schools in Wisconsin start after Labor Day. But, a bill proposed in both houses of the Wisconsin legislature might change future start dates.
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s Scottie Meyers says that before a 2002 state mandate stating that public schools could not start before September 1, Milwaukee Public Schools began classes around the 23 of August, giving the school district two more weeks before standardized testing in October.
The Wisconsin legislature has started a bill for the third time saying that the individual school districts would be able to choose when to start their school year.
“The government wants to restore local control to the school boards,” says Meyers.
People who are pushing for this bill to pass are school officials, hoping to get more time with the students before standardized testing. Those who are against it, however, are the tourism and restaurant businesses who gain a lot of business towards the end of summer.
Meyers says that this bill has been started twice before, but it keeps dying within committees. This time it has gone into the legislature.
Scottie Meyers is a writer for Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.
