How serious is Virginia about preparing itself for the globally competitive knowledge economy? Serious enough to jack up state support for K-12 education year after year with no accountability, but not serious enough to repeal the Kings Dominion law. As Joe Rogalsky at Examiner.com reminds us in an end-of-summer piece:
Virginia is the only state in the country that prohibits public schools from opening before the Tuesday after Labor Day without permission from the Virginia Board of Education. Local school systems and education advocates have urged legislators for years to remove the restriction. … The Richmond-area amusement park and other tourist attractions are major proponents of delaying classes until September because they rely on student workers.
Some day Virginia will get serious about education, but it won’t be any day soon.
