Some students are going back to school this week in the United States, while others won’t go back to class until September.
Summer break looks different for everyone, but knowing when school starts will help parents decide when to buy school supplies and snacks for school lunches.
Back to school
According to USA Today, Lamar County, Mississippi had its students back in classes by Thursday, July 25.
Meanwhile, students will return to Atlanta’s public schools on Thursday, Aug. 1.
But kids in Buffalo won’t be back to school until after Sept. 1.
There are many factors that influence when students go back to class, including weather and holiday plans.
In some states, the rhythms of farmers’ work, including when they harvest crops, affects when school is in session.
Research done by Pew Research Center showed that schools in the South generally start their school year earlier than schools in the North.
In 2023, states in the “West South Central division” — Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas — had 94% of students going back to school between Aug. 7 and Aug. 18. Over two-thirds of students in the “East South Central division,” comprised of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky, started school in the week of Aug. 7.
However, in New England, almost no one went back to school in 2023 before the week of August 28. In 2023, students in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York returned after Labor Day.
Meanwhile, in the mountain region, which included Utah, half of all public schools were back in session by mid-August, Pew reported.
Utah’s back-to-school dates
This year, Utah’s public school students will be returning to class between Aug. 12 and Aug. 27.
ABC4 Utah provided an alphabetized list of when school is back in session.