Starting in 2020, Missouri schools will be unable to start the school year earlier than two weeks before labor day. It will benefit the tourism industry, because the additional summer vacation time will generate more revenue in the area..
Jeremy McCoy, assistant principal at Nixa High School, says the main reason why school started later on in the year decades ago was because people had to bail hay in the day before fall came, so school began much later than it does currently.
Mike Parsons, Governor of Missouri, signed the bill to make schools start no earlier than 14 days before the first Monday of September.
“It was something to do with the tourism industry, so the tourism department was concerned that we were starting so early that some tax dollars from tourism industry would be taken away because school was starting so early and kids that work in the tourism industry wouldn’t be able to work because they were at school,” said McCoy.
Kelly Matney, history teacher at Nixa High School says that when school starts later on in the year, you end school later on in the year.
“Right now we end the school semester at Christmas so your semester might have to be pushed after
Christmas. So now, there is this seemingly unnatural break in the semester in January,” Matney said.
Schools are supposed to make their own new schedule for sports, activities and breaks to fit the new legislation.
“We might have a shorter Christmas break, more than likely to get all of the minutes and hours in so it would be possible too have shorter breaks for sure,” said Matney
In August 2020-2021, all of
Missouri’s public schools will start two weeks before the first Monday of September which will have a slight change in schedules and breaks.