More NC school districts going ‘rogue’ to defy the calendar law. See which ones
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A record 33 of North Carolina’s 115 districts plan to start school before Aug. 24.
- Earlier starts help high school students take final exams before Christmas.
- The calendar law does not include an enforcement mechanism.
The number of North Carolina school districts defying the state’s school calendar law is increasing with a record number choosing to begin the school year in early to mid-August.
A News & Observer analysis of a new report being presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday shows 33 of the state’s 115 school districts plan to start next school year earlier than allowed under state law. That’s three more districts than this school year.
School officials say starting earlier in August helps high school students take final exams before Christmas. A late August start means finals are either held after winter break or schools have to significantly shorten the fall semester to get the tests done in December.
“Everybody, they just do it, and they do it for the right reasons,” interim Anson County Superintendent Brian Ratliff said before the district became one of the newest to defy the calendar law. “And that is to make sure we do exactly what we just said that we’re all about doing, and that’s providing the best instruction for our kids.”
It’s a trend that was decried by the state’s tourism industry that helped push for the school calendar law.
“The question is not whether the law should change,” Vince Chelena, executive director of the North Carolina Travel Industry Association, said in an interview Tuesday. “The question is whether local boards should follow the law that exists today.
“The law was put in place by the General Assembly, and that’s the same body that gave governance to school boards to begin with. It just surprises me that those people who are in charge of that continue to disobey the law, whether there are penalties or not.”
Who should control school calendars?
The school calendar law was passed in 2004 amid complaints about the summer vacation season being shortened by schools holding classes in early August. There have been no major changes to the law since it went into effect despite lobbying by school districts who say they want more control over setting their calendars.
“What we’re involved in is trying to protect families that depend on tourism — particularly along the coast and in the mountains — who have a short period of time in which to make their livelihood,” Chelena said. “And there’s also parents, especially with children, who use August as a prime vacation time, so we’re defending that.”
Currently, 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. That means most schools are supposed to start next school year no earlier than Aug. 24.
The calendar law doesn’t apply to private schools, charter schools, year-round schools, restart schools, early college high schools, the Rowan-Salisbury school system and nine districts that have waivers from the State Board of Education due to past weather issues.
The state House annually passes bills to give school calendar flexibility. But they’ve died in the Senate, drawing frustrated complaints from school board members across the state.
“Teachers across the whole county want the early calendar because it just makes sense,” Iredell-Statesville school board member Cindy Haynes said before the board’s Feb. 9 vote to continue defying the calendar law. “I mean, it’s just common sense. So, why do our state representatives not see it?”
Last year, the Senate passed what was described as a compromise bill that would let school districts start a week earlier in August if they finish classes before Memorial Day. But the N.C. School Boards Association doesn’t back the Senate bill because hey say it could shorten the school year too much.
The House hasn’t yet acted on the Senate bill.
More districts not following the calendar law
Frustrations about the lack of legislative action have caused a growing number of school leaders to defy the calendar law.
“I voted no for the last four years on this thing because it’s against the law and I took an oath and I don’t like breaking oaths,” Iredell-Statesville school board chair Doug Knight said on Feb. 9 before voting to not follow the calendar law. “But the reality is, you know it’s the right thing to do ultimately. Unfortunately I’m going to vote for it this time.”
The 33 districts starting before Aug. 24 without state permission represent 28% of the state’s school districts.
“Thank you to the 72% that are complying with the law and being good examples for the students that are under their care,” Chelena said.
Anson, Caswell and Graham counties opted to sidestep the calendar law this fall after having followed it this school year.
Anson County will start classes on Aug. 12, nearly two weeks earlier than allowed. Ratliff, the district’s superintendent, tried to reassure school board members that there’s little chance of being penalized.
“We’re not running rogue here,” Ratliff said at the board’s Nov. 24 meeting. “But we are following suit with many, many, many other school districts in order to do exactly what we need to get done there.”
The calendar law doesn’t have an enforcement mechanism, unlike the version passed by the Senate.
But Chelena said people in those 33 school districts can take action if they don’t like the early start to the school year.
In recent years, the Carteret County, Davidson County and Union County school systems dropped plans to defy the calendar law after being sued.
“Anybody who becomes disappointed with an early calendar date can bring a suit against that particular school district, and they have won three times already,” Chelena said. “The courts have already ruled that it’s state law.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 10:17 AM.
