(Montgomery) -- Saying it is unacceptable for parents and teachers to be left in the dark as to the academic status of schools before the school year begins, Senator and Senate Floor Leader Zeb Little (D- Cullman) and Representative Craig Ford (D- Gadsden) today announced plans to propose legislation that would require school to start no earlier than August 21 and ensure that parents will have a minimum of one week before the school year begins to review the information outlined in the federally required Adequate Yearly Progress Reports.

While the federal law requires that the reports be out no later than the first day of school, Little and Ford said Alabama is obeying neither the letter nor the spirit of the law. They went on to say issuing adequate yearly progress reports after the school year begins prevents parents from making timely and informed decisions regarding their children’s education and cannot be allowed to continue in Alabama.

Following the recommendation of the State Board of Education, the majority of Alabama public schools began class this year on August 9^th – although some Alabama children returned to class as early as July 29^th.  School administrators and school board members received reports on August 12^th and had until the 30^th to review the data and point out perceived inaccuracies before the state could begin to make a final determination of a school’s status.

Students attending schools that receive Title I funding and do not make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years are eligible to transfer to a school that is making acceptable progress.  A process Little points out is time consuming for school districts as well as parents.

Alabama parents with children eligible to transfer from a low-performing school were not given that option until after classes began for the fall semester. Ford said that not having the reports released well before the start of the school year not only forces school administrators to scramble in their attempts to comply with federal law, but is also an injustice to Alabama students and parents.

“Releasing data after the school year begins is unfair to parents and the school district,” said Little.  “It robs parents of their ability to make sound choices for their children.”

Ford said, “The proposed legislation takes into account the work school officials must do to make the move as easy as possible for all involved. A school may not make adequate yearly progress because of low attendance or because of low scores on academic tests.  Whatever the case, parents have a right to know, and possibly transfer their child to another school, before the school year begins.”

Federal law does allow funding to be withheld if states do not release reports on time.  According to the San Antonio Express-News, The Texas Education Agency has failed to meet reporting requirements. “The U.S. Department of Education may withhold as much as $7 million in federal funding until Texas releases the report that lists which schools missed the federal benchmarks, called “Adequate Yearly Progress.”

Ford added that a school start date of August 21 would allow the first semester to end prior to the Winter Break and allow the school year to wrap up by Memorial Day. He also noted that early school starts have become an issue in other states as well, pointing out that North Carolina recently passed legislation requiring schools to begin fall classes no earlier than August 25. 

Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Virginia all have enacted laws pertaining to when the school year can begin.

Senate President Pro-Tem Lowell Barron (D-Fyffe), Senators Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) and Steve French (R-Birmingham), House Education Committee Chair Yvonne Kennedy (D-Mobile) and Representatives Randy Davis (R-Daphne) and Steve Hurst (D-Munford) have all signed on as supporters of the legislation.