Should Minnesota let schools start whenever they want? Late Labor Day rekindles debate
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Hundreds of thousands of Minnesota kids return to school Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. It’s not only a tradition, it’s been the law for more than 40 years. Minnesota requires districts not to start before Labor Day without prior approval.
Given the late date for Labor Day this year and next, lawmakers let districts open their doors early to students for fall 2026 and 2027. Forty-two of the state’s 300-plus districts took that opportunity this year and they’re leaders are watching closely to see if it makes a difference.
While there’s still overwhelming support from families to start school after Labor Day, the experiences this year and next could open the door to a wider discussion about what’s best for schools, kids and families.
“Earlier in the year things can be really, really good because everybody’s like, ‘We know kids are excited to come back,’” said Mark Grossklaus, executive director of teaching and learning at the Centennial School District in Anoka County. All the Centennial district kids were in class on Sept. 1
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Grossklaus’s team sent out a survey to families and staff, asking how they felt about starting classes before Labor Day. The responses he got back were not definitive either way, although some parents reached out to ask whether Centennial planned to make the early start a new normal.
“Our plan was just to go one year at a time, see how it goes,” he reassured them.
For Grossklaus, the early start makes sense. Many students are already back in school buildings beginning in mid-August in order to start training for sports and other fall activities. The early start also makes no difference to teachers’ professional development and preparation.
More importantly, Grossklaus knows how difficult it is for teachers and students to stay focused on school after Memorial Day in May when the weather starts warming up.
He thinks an early start allows educators to get more productive time with students at the beginning of the year when they’re eager to learn.
“Where teachers appreciate, especially, is this year we’re out June 3rd,” he said. “Last year we were out June 10th and so, from the teacher perspective, if I can get them out early in June or earlier, they’re more excited.”
‘There would be a lot of pushback’
For lawmakers, the very late dates for Labor Day this year and next made granting flexibility a fairly easy decision.
“Starting a school year this late cuts into a district’s academic days and pushes the end of the date of school year into June,” said Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, the lawmaker who sponsored the bill.
The Association of Metropolitan School Districts, which represents more than 50 school districts mostly in the Twin Cities region, strongly supports giving locally elected school boards the flexibility to establish their own school calendars “to meet the unique needs of their students, families, and staff,” said Scott Croonquist, the group’s executive director.
Not every community wants to start before Labor Day. For some districts in places reliant on summer tourism or where 4-H and agriculture-related participation in the Minnesota State Fair is a big focus, there’s more enthusiasm to wait until Labor Day is over to begin classes.
“There would be a lot of pushback if we started before Labor Day here,” said Chip Rankin, superintendent for Brainerd Public Schools in the heart of central Minnesota’s lake and resort country.
“When summer explodes, so does our community because everyone’s heading up north,” Rankin added.
Family-run businesses, resorts and other tourism-focused businesses rely on students to help staff their restaurants, man their docks and keep things running during the summer.
“It starts fishing opener weekend” through Memorial Day weekend, Rankin said. “The tensions of being in school makes it very difficult.”
Rankin sees the post-Labor Day start to school as a Minnesota tradition that won’t change soon. But he wonders if school districts will begin to reexamine their calendars as they continue to face fiscal challenges from a falling birth rate, inflation and tax funding not keeping up with costs.
“In an era that things are always changing, it’s interesting how school calendars haven’t,” Rankin said. “You just question, like, what’s the research say?”
He noted some schools going to a four-day school week and that some schools in Texas are starting now as early as July. “Sometimes,” he said, “I wonder, maybe we’re not asking the right questions like what’s best for kids.”
