Early Start Considered for Fall, Make Up Days Announced
The Caswell County Board of Education is carefully considering the pros and cons of starting the school year earlier, even though doing so would violate state law.
Caswell County Schools announced two make-up days and the Board of Education is asking for feedback as it considers an earlier start to the 2026-2027 school year.
To make up for instructional time lost due to winter weather, Caswell County students will now be required to attend school on Friday, February 20, which was originally an optional teacher workday, and Friday, March 27, which was originally a required workday. The grading period ends March 26 and report cards are scheduled to go out Thursday, April 2. School will be closed on April 3 for Good Friday and the following week for spring break, returning on April 13.
First Day of School Could Come Earlier, and Violate Law
As they work to develop the 2026-2027 calendar, the Caswell County Board of Education is carefully considering the pros and cons of starting the school year earlier, even though doing so would violate state law.
In the last three years, approximately 39 other public school districts across the state have insisted on local control of the academic calendar, choosing an earlier start date for schools to make sure high school students are able to complete first semester exams before their winter break and to align their schedules with the local community college.
But by doing so, those districts are violating current state law. Last year, legislation was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly to give local school districts more flexibility in setting their calendars. House Bill 121 moved through the NC House, onto the NC Senate, where it passed its first reading in May of 2025 and was referred on to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.
Until that legislation is ratified into law, current law requires that:
- Schools must open no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26
- Schools must close no later than the Friday closest to June 11
While none of those districts have yet lost state funding or faced penalties for starting earlier than the traditional calendar, Caswell's Board of Education fully acknowledges that if they choose for Caswell's students to go back to school earlier than the traditional calendar, the district risks losing state funding or could face other penalties for non-compliance.
State law also requires school calendars to cover at least nine months, and allow for a minimum of 1,025 instructional hours, which school leaders say makes it hard to split up the semesters at winter break without starting earlier or shortchanging the instructional hours in the first semester.
By starting a week earlier, on August 17, Caswell students would be able to finish first semester exams before winter break. That start date also aligns with the first day of class at Piedmont Community College (PCC). School leaders say that is an important consideration as so many students participate in the College and Careers Promises program that allows Bartlett Yancey Senior High School students to take classes to be dually enrolled in classes at PCC.
Interim Superintendent Lance Stokes, who previously served as Principal at Bartlett Yancey, pointed out that it was a costly logistical challenge for the school system to bring one group of students back into the building earlier than everyone else was scheduled to return.
The Board of Education is requesting input from parents, staff, and community members before its members make a decision and ask that input be provided via THIS SURVEY. The Board also routinely receives Public Comments during its regularly scheduled meetings, which can be found listed on the Community Calendar or the Caswell County Schools website.
