A Hill Country lawmaker’s bill would eliminate the four-day school week in the State of Texas even as several public school districts have already made the switch.
State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) filed the legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 2368, which, if passed, will restore the school week to five days, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
The current academic year has seen many districts mull or implement a four-day week into their calendars.
Proponents claim the switch is to help with teacher retention, but Campbell argued it could have a negative impact on students and their families, according to KHOU.
The senator added that the reading and math score gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic need to be addressed.
"Students cannot afford to lose any more precious hours of instructional time," Campbell said, KHOU reported.
Citing The Texas Tribune, Temple NBC affiliate KCEN reported that Texas’ smaller and rural districts favor a four-day week.
The leader of the Academy Independent School District (AISD), which is south of Temple, expressed his support for a shorter week to the station.
Superintendent Billy Harlan said districts like AISD can keep pace with districts that offer a bigger starting salary.
Under SB 2368, districts will be required to have 175 minimum instructional days during the year, as well as allot time for instruction, intermissions and recesses in at least 75,600 minutes.
On the issue of teacher shortages, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) ABC affiliate WFAA reported that a random survey conducted by the Charles Butt Foundation in 2022 revealed that 77% of teachers said they had strongly considered leaving the classroom for good, a huge increase from 58% when the pandemic began.
Approximately 12% of the state’s teachers actually departed the profession before the commencement of the 2021-2022 school year, according to figures from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the station reported.
