As legislation surrounding the school calendar continues to be debated in the General Assembly, Anne Arundel County Public Schools is seeking public input into potential alterations that may become possible with changes in the law.
Under the current Board-approved calendar, the first day of classes for students next year is Tuesday, September 3, 2019, and the last day is Monday, June 15, 2020.
The survey gauges, among other things, preferences on extending the last day of class to Friday, June 19, 2020, in order to make other changes – such as building in more inclement weather days, restoring a full week of Easter/Spring break, or closing for Rosh Hashanah – within the calendar. In any case, the first day of classes will remain after Labor Day.
The survey also asks for opinions on opening schools on Presidents Day and Easter Monday, should that become legally permissible, and whether parents would send their children to school on certain designated days if class were in session.
The survey is available now and will run through noon on Friday, April 5. It can be taken at www.aacps.org/2019calendarsurvey. Surveys can only be taken once on a computer device.
Should changes in the law enable calendar alterations, AACPS plans to reconvene its Calendar Committee to review and discuss the results of the survey. The committee, made up of parents, students, and representatives of employee bargaining units and various school system departments and offices, will forward a recommendation to the Board of Education for its consideration.
When complete, the calendar will also include changes recently adopted by the Board that add the Hindu holiday of Diwali to the list of religious observances and alter language about tests and examinations on days of religious observances.