By Sarah Ostergaard
More school districts across South Carolina are changing to year-round modified school calendars. This summer, start dates range across the state from July 21 to August 18, with ending dates May 21 through June 4.
The name “year-round modified school schedule” is sort of a misnomer – students still attend school for 180 days. Instead, this approach restructures the traditional school calendar by redistributing the 180 instructional days more evenly throughout the year, with a shorter summer break and more frequent breaks after the end of a quarter or around a national holiday. For example, a common format includes 45 days of instruction followed by a 1- or 2-week break, and repeat. The idea is to shorten the long summer break and offer more consistent time off across the rest of the year.
For years, South Carolina law has restricted public schools from starting before the third Monday in August, which would be August 18 this year. This requirement, found in Section 59-1-425 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, was passed in the early 2000s in response to concerns from the tourism industry, especially along the coast, that early school start dates were negatively affecting summer business.
Back in 2006, the legislature revised this law to give districts more flexibility; however, the workaround was not often used and most SC school districts opened around the same timeframe across the state. The statute mandates that school start dates “must not be before the third Monday in August, except for schools operating on a year-round modified school calendar” (emphasis added). That language in the statute eventually has opened the door for more and more districts to open earlier and earlier. Looking at the SC Department of Education’s composite school calendar for the 2025-2026 academic year, only tourism-heavy Horry County is opening on or after the “third Monday in August.”
Here in LexRich5, it seems we’re easing into a modified schedule. Teachers and staff on 190-day contracts return to work on July 31 and the first day of classes for students is August 7.
In LexRich5, teachers and staff have an opportunity every year to vote on one of three proposed calendars, and parents in the Parent Advisory Council are also asked for comments about the three versions of the next academic year’s calendar. Then the District sends the calendar(s) to the LR5 school board for approval. After the local school board approves a final calendar, school districts submit it to the South Carolina Department of Education no later than mid-May for the following academic year. If you as a community member or parent have an opinion about the district’s academic calendar for the 2026-2027 academic year, don’t be shy about approaching the school board to voice your preferences. Our school board trustees always love to hear from their constituents.
Why are districts shortening summer break and lengthening others? One of the top arguments in favor of year-round modified schooling is that it minimizes the “summer slide.” By shortening the summer gap, it is argued, many students retain more knowledge and require less review time when returning to school. Studies have documented mixed levels of learning loss, strongest in children in poverty.
Another argument is that the modified year round school schedule is easier for working parents, since finding childcare for a long summer break is challenging. Is this a toss-up, however, since then more frequent 1- or 2-week breaks also interrupt working parents’ schedules?
I have also heard arguments that both students and teachers benefit from more frequent breaks during the school year in order to reduce stress. One way or the other, it would be wonderful if the more frequent breaks throughout the year could be used for intersession programs: enrichment or remediation sessions that help struggling students catch up or allow high-achievers to explore new topics. I wonder if that is in LexRich5’s future?
On the other hand, families with long-standing traditions of summer camps, vacations, or time with out-of-town relatives may find year-round calendars difficult to work around. Vacationing with the cousins may be inconvenient now if the kids’ various school districts are on different schedules. Teens have less opportunity to work without having to balance paychecks and report cards. Lastly, this calendar shift is a major societal change and it can take time for the local economy, and our attitudes, to adjust.
In short, SC school districts are increasingly shifting to year-round modified calendars, trading long summer breaks for shorter, more frequent breaks in hopes of reducing learning loss. While the change offers potential benefits for learning and work-life balance, it also challenges long-standing family traditions and requires a community-wide (state-wide? nation-wide?) adjustment.
