The West Chester Area School District Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee reviewed a proposed revision to Policy 803 that would remove the rule tying the start of the school year to Labor Day and considered a draft 2026–27 school calendar during its Oct. 13 meeting.

The policy change would remove the existing guideline that school may begin no earlier than seven days before or seven days after Labor Day. "We don't have to follow that rule in 08/2003 any longer. We can start school when we wanna start school, and we think it's best for our kids," said Dr. Missett, the staff presenter, describing the proposed revision as informational (the committee did not vote on the policy at this meeting).

The topic matters because Labor Day in 2026 falls unusually late (Sept. 7), which, under the current guideline, would have pushed the district's start date into late September or compressed the end of the year. "It really turns into a time," one committee member said about pushing the school year into mid‑June; the presenter and committee members said the proposed flexibility is intended to avoid adversely affecting seniors and instructional quality by forcing a later start or finish.

On the calendar itself, the district presented a color‑coded draft showing the first day of school for 2026 as Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, and noted several scheduling choices: one professional learning day in October, Nov. 3 (an election day) marked as a staff professional development day with buildings closed because several school buildings are polling places, and a full week spring break during the week beginning March 22, 2027. The presenter said there is a drafting error on the shared calendar: Nov. 25 should be shown as a staff professional development day (no students) and correcting that will adjust the month totals used to calculate student and staff days.

Public commenter Judy DeFonzo urged clear advance communication if the district adopts the change, saying families, teachers and staff "really need to get the word out" about a significant calendar change. DeFonzo also noted that 06/11/2027 appears as a scheduled snow day on materials she referenced and asked for clearer labeling so families understand that the last day of school could shift. The presenter confirmed the district intends a built‑in snow day in June 2027 and explained the district is tracking required counts under the district contract (the presenter cited the contract requirement for 182 student days and the corresponding teacher day count).

No formal vote or final action was recorded on either the policy revision or the calendar at this meeting. Committee members characterized both items as a "first read"; the presenter said the policy will go to the policy committee for formal consideration and that the calendar will be cleaned up and returned for later action. Committee members asked staff to correct the November date, clarify employee vs. student closure days on the public calendar, and to prepare outreach messaging if the policy is adopted.

The committee will take further action at the policy committee meeting and on subsequent readings; no adoption or binding decision was made at this session.