Henrico Schools considers pre-Labor Day start for 2022-2023 school year

The Henrico County Public Schools district is once again introducing the option of beginning the school year before Labor Day, district officials announced Wednesday.

If the proposal is adopted, the 2022-23 school year would start Aug. 29, 2022 and end June 16, 2023. The number of “school days” would remain the same, but possible advantages of an earlier start date include additional employee holidays, flexibility to add new religious and/or cultural observances, and the opportunity to provide more planning and professional learning time for teachers.

Any decision wouldn’t affect this coming school year, which is slated to start Sept. 8.

The district is seeking feedback from the community and plans to hold virtual informational meetings for families and employees this summer.

Last year, the school board introduced the idea of a pre-Labor Day start for the 2021-22 school year – a change school officials had sought for years but couldn’t initiate because of what was colloquially known as the “Kings Dominion Law,” which required school districts to begin classes after Labor Day unless they applied for a waiver through the state.

Initial community feedback on the proposed change was limited last year, but the effort was postponed in June as the COVID-19 pandemic upended students’ summers.

School administrators will provide more detail on the proposal at the next school board meeting on June 24. Following the meeting, the district will provide detailed options for the 2022-23 calendar for the public to review.

A final decision about the 2022-23 start date will be made in August at the earliest, according to the district.

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.