Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Pre-Labor Day school debate back on the calendar

Minnesota State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer speaks Feb. 3 before the House Education Innovation Policy Committee against a pair of bills that would allow school districts to begin the school year before Labor Day. Photo by Paul Battaglia
Minnesota State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer speaks Feb. 3 before the House Education Innovation Policy Committee against a pair of bills that would allow school districts to begin the school year before Labor Day. Photo by Paul Battaglia

For many Minnesotans, Labor Day represents the sentimental – if not practical – last day to engage in summertime activities.

But two similar bills could end what some believe to be a time-honored tradition of families using the first weekend of September to engage in one last dalliance with summer vacation before children head back to school.

Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester) sponsors HF100, which would give school districts the ability to start their school year before Labor Day. Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) sponsors HF466, which would give schools the ability to start as early as Sept. 1 for the 2015-16 school year only.

Kresha said his bill, which has no Senate companion, would free districts from some of the pressures they tend to encounter with a calendar that can run as late as mid-June, depending on when Labor Day falls and if their weather-caused cancellations that need to be made up. This year’s Labor Day is Sept. 7, the latest date it can be.

Rep. Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton), who chairs the House Education Policy Innovation Committee, laid each bill over Tuesday for future consideration. She said she is inclined to bring HF466 back for a vote in the coming weeks after committee members have researched the issue and they have a chance to hear from the Department of Education. She said HF100 will be considered for inclusion in an omnibus policy bill.

Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL-Maplewood) sponsors a companion to Norton’s bill. SF115 awaits action by the Senate Education Committee.

Both bills – which have support from organizations that represent many of the state’s school administrators and school boards – would prohibit those schools choosing to start instruction before Labor Day from holding classes on the Thursday and Friday before the holiday. But the thought of ending summer vacation a week early has resort owners like Tom Kavanaugh fuming.

“We operate year round at our resort,” said Kavanaugh, a board member for the Minnesota Resort and Campground Association and co-owner of Kavanaugh's Sylvan Lake Resort near Brainerd.

“But 81 percent of our business comes between June 20 and Labor Day,” he said. “Taking away 10 percent of our season would be destructive as any 10- to 15-percent loss in any business would be.”

Minnesota State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said the economic engine that is the “Great Minnesota Get Together” would be severely impacted if districts across the state began their school year during the middle of its annual run, which always begins in late-August and ends on Labor Day.

“The fair has operated at a loss only three times in its history,” he said. “Twice because of bad weather and once due to pre-Labor Day school openings.”

Representatives from the Minnesota School Boards Association countered that schools need more flexibility — including the ability to schedule earlier school year starts — in determining their academic calendar to meet the learning needs of their students.

Norton and Kresha said many districts want to start earlier in order give teachers and students more time up front to learn and meet federal and state-related achievement goals, including statewide assessment exams which students take in the spring.

But Kavanaugh contended that those supporting pre-Labor Day school starts don’t have proof it improves student achievement. And he pointed to a 2012 poll conducted by the Minnesota Center for Survey Research that states 75 percent of respondents said that kindergarten through 12th grade classes should start after Labor Day.

Norton also noted that many extra-curricular activities begin two and three weeks before classes begin.

“Pre-Labor Day start might be a much better match for families whose children are already participating in fall sports and athletics.”

Start date policy bounced around over last 30 years

The Legislature first mandated statewide post-Labor Day school starts in 1985. The law was amended in 1997 to accommodate years where Labor Day fell later on the calendar. In 1998, schools were allowed to start their academic calendar no earlier than Sept. 1. But the post-Labor Day mandate was re-enacted in 2005.

Some schools are allowed exemptions, for example due to construction timelines, to start their school year earlier, but must seek approval from the Department of Education. Charter schools and private schools are allowed to start classes before Labor Day.

Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia are the only three states to have mandatory post-Labor Day school state laws. 


Related Articles


Priority Dailies

Minnesota’s projected budget surplus balloons to $3.7 billion, but fiscal pressure still looms
(House Photography file photo) Just as Minnesota has experienced a warmer winter than usual, so has the state’s budget outlook warmed over the past few months. On Thursday, Minnesota Management and Budget...
Legislative leaders announce 2024 committee deadlines
(House Photography file photo) Legislators and the public officially know the timeline for getting bills through the House committee process during the upcoming 2024 session. Here are the two deadlines fo...

Minnesota House on Twitter