LAUSD board pushes back school year by two weeks

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District board has decided to push the start of the school year back by two weeks after complaints were made about classes' current start in the hot days of mid-August.

The school year will be pushed back by one week, to Aug. 22, in 2017 and an additional week, to Aug. 28, in 2018. That means classes will start in the last week of August in 2018-19 and subsequent years.

Winter break will also be shortened from three weeks to two weeks. Thanksgiving break will also be shortened to three days instead of a full week.

The school year had been moved to mid-August in 2012, with the intent being for high school students to finish semester coursework before winter break and have more time to prepare for AP testing.

But opponents argued that the earlier start put students in the sweltering days of August and cut their summer vacations and opportunities for summer employment short, while raising school energy bills. Many had argued for a return to a start of classes after Labor Day.

The proposal adopted Tuesday by the board was seen as a compromise measure.