Students can expect a change to their summer vacation if Governor Bob McDonnell gets his way. McDonnell announced various proposed changes to the K-12 Education in Virginia for the year of 2013-2014. One of the changes is the repealing of the Kings Dominion Law which has been in effect for 25 years.

The 1986 law states that schools are restricted from starting and opening schools before Labor Day.The law was proposed by Kings Dominion Amusement Park and the hospitality industry to make sure that the first day of school would not interfere with the revenue brought in by family vacations that were planned towards the end of the summer. They argue that they need teenage employees up until early fall. In addition, the Virginia tourism industry is known for making many generous campaign donations earning them the ability to influence state lawmakers.

McDonnell announced that he was planning to propose changes to education in Virginia, especially to unfunded state mandates put on local school districts, which includes the Kings Dominion Law. Namely, he wants to repeal the law so as to give schools the option to determine their own calenders allowing for more flexibility.

“We should have the option to start before labor day, it puts us in line with the testing schedule and benefits the students,” Principal Vincent Randazzo said.

Some Virginia schools request waivers to allow them to open before labor day, however that circumstance is available to schools which experienced a high number of snow days for a duration of eight years. Many schools in our district do not qualify for the waivers, including AHS, and therefore are forced to comply with the law. WTOP reports that 77 of the 132 school districts requested and qualified for the waivers during the 2011-2012 school year indicating that there needs to be a change to the law.

In terms of testing schedules, teachers and students require a great deal of time in order to prepare for IB, AP, SOLs and other standardized tests and exams.

“It would be great if the law were repealed and schools started earlier. Time is the number one thing lacking in education, it would definitely help us out with IB and SOL tests, “ IB Biology teacher Claudia Lemus said.

Starting in early September as opposed to late August serves as a disadvantage to students who require the additional time to prepare for standardized tests. Starting late has a greater impact, although it may not be apparent students who are given less time to prepare for exams and more idle time seem to be falling behind in education and general productivity.

Sports would also be experience changes to their scheduling and practices during the summer depending on when school begins.

However some students are not open to the potential change. “I would move to another state because I want my summer break. I usually go on vacation’s the entire summer,” sophomore Nelofar Jamdar said.

Although some students acknowledge the fact that the proposal would be beneficial to students they are still averse to it.

“In theory it’s a good idea but students aren’t to agree to it, they’re not going to like it,” sophomore Caroline Edwards said.