Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
49º

Most schools will open in early August

No description found

School doors will be open in 41 public-school districts as of Aug. 10, continuing a trend for students to return to their classrooms well before Labor Day.

Classes start Aug. 7 in Franklin County, the earliest starting date, followed by 40 of the 67 school districts starting Aug. 10, according to the 2017-18 academic calendar compiled by the state Department of Education.

Recommended Videos



Miami-Dade and Broward, the two largest districts, start on Aug. 21.

Hamilton County has the latest start date on Aug. 28.

With the early start for the majority of districts, 52 school systems will end classes before the end of next May, while 15 districts will end the academic year in early June.

Miami-Dade and Hamilton have the latest closing date on June 7.

School districts set the opening and closing dates based on a 2015 law that gives them discretion to create their own calendars, which must include 180 school days.

Most districts opt for an early August start to allow students to take semester exams before the holiday break in December.

Another reason for the early start is that it gives students more time to prepare for annual state assessments in the spring, which are linked to student progress and school grades.