Maryland school start dates — perhaps the least-expected places for politics to creep in — for the past seven years have often fallen along party lines.

But this year’s unusually late Labor Day shook things up.

Each of the state’s 24 school districts starts the academic year before the Sept. 7 holiday for the first time since 2016, when former Gov. Larry Hogan directed all schools to start after Labor Day.

Ten years ago, the Republican governor said the change would boost tourism in Ocean City, give families more time to enjoy summer vacation, and keep kids out of classrooms with no air conditioning for a few more days. He also required school to end by June 15, leaving educators concerned about squeezing all the required 180 days of classes in a condensed school year.

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By 2019, Maryland legislators returned calendar decisions to individual school systems, overriding the governor’s attempt to veto the move.

Then began an unusual political divide: School districts in areas dominated by Democrats often picked a late August start date, while many Republican-led counties stuck with Hogan’s idea.

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Labor Day fell on Sept. 1 last school year. So counties with majority Republican leaders like Carroll, Harford, Cecil and Worcester (where Ocean City is) started Sept. 2. Democrat-led districts like Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard, however, started Aug. 25.

A late Labor Day hasn’t stopped schools from a September opening before. When the holiday fell on Sept. 6 in 2021, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford, and Prince George’s counties started school on Sept. 8. The following year, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s reverted to a late August start, while Carroll and Harford stayed in September.

This year, Baltimore County schools share a start date with the traditionally post-Labor Day crowd, including Carroll County schools. When Carroll school board members debated pre- and post-Labor Day starts in 2025, they considered the sports season, testing dates and hot school bus rides; politics wasn’t part of the conversation.

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Here’s when each system starts school this year:

Aug. 19

  • Frederick

Aug. 24

  • Anne Arundel
  • Baltimore City
  • Charles
  • Dorchester
  • Howard
  • Queen Anne’s
  • Talbot

Aug. 25

  • Allegany
  • Calvert
  • Montgomery
  • Prince George’s
  • Washington

Aug. 26

  • Caroline
  • St. Mary’s

Aug. 31

  • Baltimore County
  • Carroll
  • Cecil
  • Garrett
  • Harford
  • Kent
  • Somerset
  • Worcester

Sept. 1

  • Wicomico

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.