Iowa Code § 279.10
School year — beginning date — exemption
Redline — January 1, 2012 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2026
As of January 1, 2012
1. The school year shall begin on the first day of July and each regularly established elementary and secondary school shall begin no sooner than a day during the calendar week in which the first day of September falls but no later than the first Monday in December. However, if the first day of September falls on a Sunday, school may begin on a day during the calendar week which immediately precedes the first day of September. School shall continue for at least one hundred eighty days, except as provided in subsection 3, and may be maintained during the entire calendar year. However, if the board of directors of a district extends the school calendar because inclement weather caused the district to temporarily close school during the regular school calendar, the district may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment of personnel for in-service training and development purposes before the date to begin elementary and secondary school.
1. The school year for each school district and accredited nonpublic school shall begin on July 1 and the school calendar shall begin no sooner than August 23 and no later than the first Monday in December. The school calendar shall include not less than one hundred eighty days or one thousand eighty hours of instruction during the calendar year, of which not more than five days or thirty hours of instruction may be delivered primarily over the internet except as otherwise provided in section 256.43 or in rules adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 32. The board of directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school shall determine the school start date for the school calendar in accordance with this subsection and shall set the number of days or hours of required attendance for the school year as provided in section 299.1, subsection 2, but the board of directors of a school district shall hold a public hearing on any proposed school calendar prior to adopting the school calendar. If the board of directors of a district or the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school extends the school calendar because inclement weather caused the school district or accredited nonpublic school to temporarily close during the regular school calendar, the school district or accredited nonpublic school may excuse a graduating senior who has met district or school requirements for graduation from attendance during the extended school calendar. A school corporation may begin employment of personnel for in-service training and development purposes before the date to begin elementary and secondary school.
2. The board of directors shall hold a public hearing on any proposal prior to submitting it to the department of education for approval.
2. The board of directors of a school district and the authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic school may apply to the department of education for authorization to maintain a year-round school calendar at an attendance center or school for students in prekindergarten through grade twelve. However, a board shall hold a public hearing on any proposal relating to authorization for a year-round school calendar prior to submitting an application under this subsection to the department of education for approval.
3. The board of directors of a school district may request approval from the department of education for a pilot program for an innovative school year. The number of days per year that school is in session may be more or less than those specified in subsection 1, but the innovative school year shall provide for an equivalent number of total hours that school is in session.
a. The board shall file a request for approval with the department not later than November 1 of the preceding school year. The request shall include a listing of the savings and goals to be attained under the innovative school year subject to rules adopted by the department under chapter 17A. The department shall notify the districts of the approval or denial of pilot programs not later than the next following January 15.
a. The initial application for a year-round school calendar shall be submitted to the department of education not later than November 1 of the preceding school year. The department shall notify the board or the authorities of the approval or denial of an application not later than the next following January 15. The application may be approved for one or two years at a time. A board or the authorities in charge may reapply to renew an authorization by November 1 of the year prior to expiration of the authorization.
b. A request to continue an innovative school year pilot project after its initial year also shall include an evaluation of the savings and impacts on the educational program in the district.
c. Participation in a pilot project shall not modify provisions of a master contract negotiated between a school district and a certified bargaining unit pursuant to chapter 20 unless mutually agreed upon.
4. The director of the department of education may grant a request made by a board of directors of a school district stating its desire to commence classes for regularly established elementary and secondary schools prior to the earliest starting date specified in subsection 1. A request shall be based upon the determination that a starting date on or after the earliest starting date specified in subsection 1 would have a significant negative educational impact.
b. An attendance center or school authorized to maintain a year-round calendar must serve all students attending the school and shall not be limited based on student achievement or based on the trait or characteristic of the student as defined in section 280.28, Code 2024.
c. An attendance center or school authorized to maintain a year-round school calendar under this subsection shall provide at least ten days of instruction or the hourly equivalent during eleven of the twelve months of the school year. The period of time between instructional days shall not exceed six weeks.
d. A year-round school calendar authorized pursuant to this subsection is exempt from the school start date specified in subsection 1.
83 Acts, ch 17, §1, 3, 4; 85 Acts, ch 6, §1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1467; 88 Acts, ch 1087, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1259, §1; 90 Acts, ch 1272, §68; 94 Acts, ch 1020, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180
83 Acts, ch 17, §1, 3, 4; 85 Acts, ch 6, §1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1467; 88 Acts, ch 1087, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1259, §1; 90 Acts, ch 1272, §68; 94 Acts, ch 1020, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §81, 82, 85; 2014 Acts, ch 1003, §2; 2015 Acts, ch 31, §2, 3, 5; 2015 Acts, ch 138, §40, 52, 161; 2016 Acts, ch 1011, §44; 2020 Acts, ch 1107, §9; 2023 Acts, ch 90, §12; 2025 Acts, ch 64, §1; 2025 Acts, ch 114, §1
Referred to in
Subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended
Subsection 2, paragraph b amended
Official source: Iowa Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Iowa statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.