State Rep. Steve Johnson has introduced legislation to leave school start dates up to local school boards.

Currently, Michigan has a mandated post-Labor Day start date for publicly funded schools. Rep. Johnson’s bill would repeal this requirement, allowing parents and local school boards to determine their start date rather than being forced to wait until after Labor Day.

Rep. Johnson said the post-Labor Day start date doesn’t work for many Michigan schools districts. For the 2018-19 school year, the Michigan Department of Education granted 140 requests from districts to start prior to Labor Day, a dramatic increase from 26 requests in the 2012-13 school year.

“The closer-to-home these decisions are made, the more efficiently the school calendar start date can be tailored to fit the needs of each respective district and its students,” said Johnson, R-Wayland. “I’m a passionate advocate for local control, and this legislation provides an option for those districts who would like to begin school earlier, without mandating it for districts that would prefer a later start.”

House Bill 4369 was referred to the House Education Committee for further consideration.