Texas lawmakers are considering a five-day school week mandate due to concerns over academic performance drop off.
The Senate Committee on Education were presented with data that showed Texas students were trailing Mississippi students in 4th and 8th grade reading scores. Mississippi used to rank nationally at the bottom for education, but since 2013 it has seen rapid improvement that has come to be known as the “Mississippi Miracle.”
Mike Morath, the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, told lawmakers on Tuesday that Texas and Mississippi share a very similar policy framework with some key differences. Mississippi does hold back 3rd graders that are not reading at grade level. He said the state requires its school districts to a minimum 180-day school year. In Texas, the average time students spent in school was 169 days.
The pushed lawmakers to consider if the Lone Star state should institute a similar mandate as more than 100 school districts have switched to four-day school weeks.
In Texas, districts are required to have 75,600 operational minutes in a school year, with free reign to decided how they reach that minimum.
During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers considered a bill to ban more districts from implementing four-day school weeks. Senate Bill 2368 passed the Senate but failed to make it out of a House committee.
School districts have decided to switch to a four-day week for various reasons. Some districts use the four-day week as a way to recruit more teachers and retain teachers. Some believed it would provide a cost savings to the district and give students more time to be with their families.
But national studies are showing that on average the four-day school week is having minimal positive impacts and creating other concerns. Dr. Emily Morton, the director of research consulting for Northwest Evaluation Association, told Texas lawmakers on Tuesday that her studies have found small average decreases in district spending — roughly 2% — and a 30-40% drop in bullying.
Morton also said the teacher quality and school climate ratings did not see any change while the same districts saw increases in juvenile crime and higher rates of food insecurity.
Speakers representing some ISDs spoke out on the four-day school week. The superintendent for Natalia ISD said his district decided to implement a four-day school week to help with teacher recruitment and retainment. However, neither saw improvement and the school district saw a negative outcome. The district went from a “C” rated district to a “F” over the few years it implemented the policy. This past year the school board decided to go back to a five-day week.
Other states have passed laws allowing a four-day week. In Indiana, a district was allowed only if it receives an “A” rating, meets a minimum teacher salary requirement, allows students to access a fifth day of education if they need it, and get approval from the State Board.