When school starts in less than a month, students in 10 Iowa districts will go to school just four days a week. Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair says it’s happening because of a recent change in Iowa law. It lets schools choose to calculate the required amount of classroom instruction each school year by the total number of days or just over a thousand hours.
Over 1,600 districts in 24 states have opted for a four-day week and most offer childcare on the other weekday. Sinclair says research shows parents depend upon schools for childcare.
There’s been some pushback in other states on a four-day school week. A bill introduced in Louisiana sought to ban four-day weeks and legislators in Missouri and Texas have considered limiting which districts can switch to four days a week. The only school district around Kossuth County that will use a four-day week is North Iowa, who plan to have students attend Tuesday-Friday beginning August 23rd after approving the switch earlier this year.
