Four-Day School Weeks, Gaining Popularity, Face Pushback From Lawmakers

Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
By David Montgomery

MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Desperate to fill open positions amid a statewide teacher shortage, school officials in this rural North Texas city of about 15,000 chose to follow the lead of neighboring districts by converting to a four-day school week at the start of the current student year.

"We decided if we can't beat them, join them," Superintendent John Kuhn said.

As the school year nears a close next month, Kuhn proclaimed the four-day week "a really good success," which, among other positives, produced a surge of qualified teacher applicants that helped the district fill its vacancies. The seven-member school board has unanimously authorized the four-day schedule for the new school year that starts in August 2023.

Nationwide, the number of four-day schools has increased by 600 percent over the past two decades, now numbering more than 1,600 in 24 states, according to research published in 2021. The schedule is most popular in small, rural districts. In Colorado, which has the largest percentage, 124 of the state's 178 districts (70 percent) follow a four-day schedule.

Many four-day schools report higher test scores, fewer discipline problems, and strong support from parents, teachers, and staff. But amid the success stories, the idea is facing headwinds as emerging research points to academic declines and other problems.

School districts that go from five days to four typically make up at least some of the missing hours by adding time to the other days or extending the school year. But four-day schedules average only 148 school days per year, resulting in less time in school than the national average of 180 days per year for five-day schools.

Several states have imposed restrictions or bans on four-day schools. In Oklahoma, for example, a 2019 law requires school districts to seek waivers for four-day schools. Lawmakers in Missouri and Texas are pushing legislation to block the practice.

In another part of North Texas, the suburban Mesquite Independent School District, just east of Dallas, three months ago pulled back from what had seemed to be almost certain implementation of a four-day school week, after a comprehensive study raised fears of academic setbacks among fragile student populations.

The six-state analysis, published last summer by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, found lower student achievement in four-day schools, with larger negative effects among Hispanic students, as well as in those in towns and the suburbs, as compared to rural areas.

Reviewing the relatively new findings at a board meeting in February, Mesquite officials dropped the four-day concept out of fear it would result in harmful consequences for students, 61 percent of whom are Hispanic.

"I took it off the table as the administration recommendation," Superintendent Angel Rivera told Stateline. "I'm not going to experiment on kids."

Lawmakers Push Back

Over the past several years, school districts in many states have rushed to embrace the four-day school week in hopes of easing a variety of problems, from staff vacancies to budget pressures, including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the analysis published by the Annenberg Institute.

In some states, lawmakers are pushing back.

In Missouri, where more than 160 school districts (out of 518) will follow four-day schedules next year, a state Senate-passed education bill carries an amendment by Democratic state Senator Doug Beck that would prohibit four-day school weeks in cities with more than 30,000 residents, unless approved by district voters.

Beck, whose district includes the St. Louis area, told Stateline he believes Missouri should mandate five-day school weeks, calling the reduced schedule "a bad idea" and "a push to the bottom."

In Texas, state Senator Donna Campbell, Republican vice chairman of the state Senate Education Committee, also is pushing a bill that would require five-day weeks.

Campbell said in a statement that her bill has "spurred a robust public discussion regarding the relationship between students' instructional time and academic achievement. In the future, I would like to see Texas collect data on student achievement comparing the various school week models."

At a committee hearing on her bill, Campbell said the four-day schedule "has unintentionally caused hardships on working families and does not seem to improve student outcomes." Research also suggests "that it seems to have some negative effects on children," she said.

But school district officials who testified during the hearing were unanimous in their opposition to the bill, saying it would override local decision-making.

"We know what works for us," said Paula Patterson, superintendent of the Houston-area Crosby Independent School District, which serves more than 6,000 students. When Crosby switches to a four-day schedule next fall, it will be the largest Texas district to do so.

"Four days with an exceptional teacher is much more effective and productive than five days with a less effective teacher."

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