Every Week is a Three-Day Weekend

That is what five Yakima Valley lawmakers have proposed to Washington state legislators.

As a way to cut costs, some rural districts are kicking around the idea of having four-day school weeks. While students may be drooling over the idea, not everybody thinks it's a good solution.

It would not be the first time a state took such seemingly drastic measures. In fact, New Mexico was way ahead of the curve as it experimented with shorter school weeks during the energy crisis of the 1970s

Read the full story from the Seattle P-I.

Four-day school week proposed
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

OLYMPIA -- Schools could go to a four-day week, under bills proposed by five Yakima Valley lawmakers.

The legislation would allow districts to apply to the State Board of Education to waive the 180-day school-year requirement, as long as the district's students still received the required 1,000 hours of annual instruction.

The bills' sponsors, Sens. Jim Honeyford and Curtis King and Reps. Dan Newhouse, Bruce Chandler and Geoff Simpson, say the goal is to help districts save money on utilities, transportation, maintenance and food.

Switching to four-day weeks would be voluntary under Senate Bill 5112 and House Bill 1292, and districts could choose which day of the week they closed.

The idea "is an interesting proposal," said Seattle Public Schools spokesman David Tucker Tuesday. "We'll evaluate it."

The shorter school weeks would have benefits like fewer long commutes for students in rural districts, or longer class periods for science labs or complex lessons. School days would be longer, to compensate for a shorter school year.

A shorter school week also might have some unintended effects though, according to a House bill analysis.

For example, a longer school day could be difficult for younger students or problematic when scheduling extracurricular activities. Parents would have to arrange an extra day of child care during the work week.

About 100 mostly small, rural school districts in 17 states have adopted a shortened school week, according to a House bill analysis. New Mexico was the first to try four-day school weeks, as a way to save time and money during the 1970s energy crisis, the analysis notes.

Tucker said district officials hope the Legislature will implement the recommendations of the Basic Education Task Force, which called for extra instructional time for students, particularly those who are struggling.