Changing school start dates now up to lawmakers

DES MOINES - New, stricter state guidelines for when Iowa schools may start classes each year have sparked a political fire, one that many say can be extinguished only by state lawmakers and the governor.

Many state officials, advocacy groups and lawmakers Thursday said it is up to the Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad to reach a compromise on rules governing when districts are allowed to start classes.

Branstad's administration this week issued new criteria that more strictly enforce the law that schools may not start earlier than the final week of August unless they are able to prove doing so has a 'significant negative impact” on students.

The law allows for schools to receive a waiver, allowing them to start earlier. In the past, such waiver requests were rubber-stamped; the administration's new rules make it dramatically more difficult for schools to obtain a waiver.

That set off a political debate over districts' local control in setting their calendar and the role of tourism and summer activities and jobs.

On Thursday, the consensus appeared to be that any further changes must occur in the legislative process.

'We don't have any standing here,” said Charles Edwards, president of the state Board of Education. 'It needs to be resolved by the Legislature and the by the governor, and I believe it will.”

State education director Brad Buck defended the new rules but also called for a legislative action.

'I would love a legislative solution and a compromise with the governor,” Buck said.

To reach a compromise, the governor and state lawmakers must close this gap: Branstad's rules strengthen the law that permits schools to start no earlier than the week that includes Sept. 1, while bills introduced in the Legislature permit schools to start as early as July 1 and eliminate the waiver process.

'My hope is that the interested parties in that (discussion) get around the table and find a resolution that works for everybody, and we'll go from there,” House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said. 'There are 150 legislators down here, and I think there are 150 different opinions on this particular question. While it may look relatively simple, it's actually much more complicated to come to some sort of resolution.”

Paulsen said legislation will be debated. The question is whether it will be something on which the two parties and the governor can agree.

'I think we can strike a fair balance. We're open to compromise, but I believe we need to resolve this,” Branstad said. 'I think this is something the Legislature can do this session.”