The Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction (DPI) officially notified the Northland Pines School District their petition to start school prior to September 1 next fall has been denied.
The school wanted to start Monday, August 28. DPI director of content and learning team, Rebecca Vail, explains "approval is linited under the statute to 'extraordinary reasons' defined in the administrative code."
These include construction projects, school closure due to forces of nature or environmental orders, or excessive transportation costs of pupils to private schools that start prior to September 1. The denial letter continues with appreciation of Northland Pines to create a school calendar start date that "reflects the needs of your local community" and DPI is "supportive of innovative solutions to improve student learning" but ends with a conclusion the request does not fall within the "extraordinary reasons" as defined.
In a related matter, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards approved a resolution offered by Northland Pines board chairperson Holly McCormack to allow Pre-K-8 to be exempt from the September 1 start date and for a complete repeal of the start date.
