Year-Round School Is Being Considered in Louisiana

There is a push to move Louisiana schools to year round education. State Superintendent Cade Brumley supports a bill that would open the door for a handful of systems to try this approach. Many top education leaders often point to a regression in learning as youngster come back from the summer break and teachers have to backtrack to get those children up to speed. With year round schools, that would not be as big of a problem. This new proposal is called a 'balanced' calendar with a shorter summer and time off scattered throughout the year.

Brumley told the House Education Committee: "What we know is that there is summer learning loss, we know that it is real." He adds that now is the time to explore all options that could have an impact on learning. If the proposal wins approval in Baton Rouge, systems could take part on a voluntary basis. No school district would be forced to move to year round school. Partial funding for the change could come from federal stimulus money. This proposal is not meeting with open arms from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers or the Louisiana Association of Educators. They oppose the calendar change.

This bill is now being considered in a house committee. If approved, it would move to the full house and then on to the state senate. Click here to see the discussion by the committee.