Bill would standardize school start, close

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 25, 2006 at midnight

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A Colorado Springs Republican wants all school districts statewide to start school on the same day in September and end around the same time in the spring.

A bill by GOP Rep. Lynn Hefley sets the Tuesday after Labor Day as the opening date and the Friday after Memorial Day as the earliest closing date.

Year-round schools and four-day-a-week schools would be exempted.

Hefley said she's gotten a strong thumbs-up from the tourism industry, which needs teenage workers to help with summer visitors, and from families who like the idea of a standard date.

"It makes sense," she said.

But House Bill 1150 has plenty of critics, from various school districts to the Colorado Association of School Executives.

Phil Fox, the deputy director of CASE, praised Hefley, saying the former teacher is "good-hearted" and dedicated to education.

"But this bill doesn't cut it," he said.

He said local districts need to set their calendars because they know local needs.

For instance, he said, Western Slope lawmakers start earlier in the fall so schools can close for a few days in the hunting season. Weld County allows for sugar beet harvesting.

"For 130 years, local school boards have set the dates based on local needs," Fox said.

Hefley said she wasn't surprised at the opposition.

"Any time there's change, teachers' associations, school boards and all these people rise up because they didn't think of it," she said.

"They say, 'My oh my, you're usurping our local-control powers.' "

She said it's the third time in 20 years a lawmaker has introduced a bill for standard school opening and closing dates. The previous efforts were defeated.

A fiscal analysis of Hefley's bill concludes that there is no cost, but the analysis does include an observation that school years have grown longer because of professional development days.

"That is very slanted," Fox said, adding he was surprised it was included in what traditionally is a nonpartisan analysis. "There is going to be uproar when it gets to committee."

Hefley plans to amend her bill to address an unrelated educational subject. She wants to establish graduation requirements and an exit exam. "These kids are getting to college and having to take remedial exams, and that costs money," she said.

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School Open Close

• Adams12 Five Star Schools Aug. 29 June 8

• Boulder Valley School District Aug. 26 June 8

• Cherry Crk. School District Aug. 22 June 6

• Denver Public Schools Aug. 15 May 25

• Douglas County School District Aug. 14 May 26

• Jefferson County School District Aug. 22 June 1Source: Individual School Districts

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