Last year, the state granted 326 school districts waivers, and only two districts started after Labor Day. But officials are cracking down on the waivers this year, no longer offering near automatic acceptance. Both the Council Bluffs and Lewis Central community school districts have approved 2015-16 calendars that did not require a waiver, with both local districts choosing an Aug. 31st start date for next year.

Some area school districts are waiting to see what happens in the Iowa Legislature before deciding. Glenwood, for example, adopted a calendar beginning Aug. 24 with a back-up calendar beginning Aug. 31 should lawmakers fail to reach a compromise. Atlantic and Audubon Community Schools have chosen not to file, with each district having back-up calendars similar to Glenwood.

The Iowa Senate has advanced a bill to allow schools to select their own start date, while the Iowa House supported a plan to set the earliest start date at Aug. 23, the last day of the Iowa State Fair.