Melodie Wright’s kids were among the first in the country to return to school. Her son started 10th grade and her daughter began second grade in Birmingham, Alabama, the first full week of August, more than six weeks before the official end of summer.
Millions of students across the country, including in Alabama, are loading up backpacks, meeting with teachers and classmates and adjusting to classroom procedures since school kicked off. Elsewhere in the U.S., kids are flocking to beaches on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as scorching temperatures hit some areas including Death Valley and Puerto Rico.
At least 15 states have laws specifying when public schools’ calendars must start or end. At least another 27 states allow districts to determine when to return from summer vacation.
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