It looks like students in the Sioux Falls School District are going to be heading back to class before Labor Day for the 2018-2019 school year. The school board approved the new calendar on Monday, April 24, which has classes starting on Aug. 23 and ending on May 21.

The change comes just two years after the heated disagreement between parents and the school board which caused a special election that pushed the start date back to September. The election set the start date to after Labor Day for the next three years, in which the final year would be the 2017-2018 school year.

The Sioux Falls School District had been working on a new calendar for months, ensuring they got as much input as they could. They hosted several community input sessions where people from the community could come and express their thoughts. They also created a survey that was completed by thousands of parents, students and staff. Many factors went into deciding when students would start school. Administrators wanted to balance what was best for the community and for education.

“AP tests was one of the important nonnegotiable pieces as far as we can get as many days possible for those AP students prior to the AP exams,” said Assistant Superintendent James Nold in an interview with KSFY. “We figured we’ll compromise on that start date and go right in between the two. That will still push the semester tests after break, but it moves it up a good week which saves tremendously those number of days students can have for prep before the AP exam.”

While some still wish the start date was after Labor Day and others are happy with the change, this new calendar change will only be in effect for the 2018-2019 school year as the school board works to develop a long-term calendar.