King's Dominion Law - Schools, Tourism, and the Dillon Rule in Virginia

few jurisdictions east of I-95 have been granted waivers to open schools prior to Labor Day
Source: Virginia Department of Education, Map of Virginia School Division Openings and Waivers for 2018-2019

One major challenge for tourist sites is to attract and retain their low-pay workers throughout the vacation season, especially at the end of August.

All amusement parks need workers of high school age to operate rides, sell food, and handle other chores throughout the entire tourist season. Even concessioners in the national parks need staff to stay through the summer. As an incentive, the pay scale may include a large bonus for staying to September, to discourage employees from quitting before the tourist season ends and slipping in a quick vacation before returning to high school or college.

Starting in 1986, the Virginia General Assembly prohibited local school districts from opening before Labor Day. The shorthand name for the requirement is "Kings Dominion law," reflecting the common belief that its purpose was to ensure a supply of teen-age workers and customers for the amusement park that opened in 1975 on I-95 near Ashland.

Hanover and Henrico counties, two nearby jurisdictions with potential employees, are required to wait until after Labor Day before opening K-12 schools. However, other jurisdictions have received waivers and may open earlier.

The law authorizes early openings in districts which were "closed an average of eight days per year during any five of the last 10 years because of severe weather conditions" or from other emergency situations. The waivers have enabled most districts west of I-95 to open before Labor Day, but Arlington County has never qualified for one.

Several counties near the Kings Dominion location were also given waivers after the 2018 General Assembly added another exemption, for jurisdictions which had a pre-Labor Day opening during the 2011-2012 school year.¹

A 2018 report from Old Dominion University identified no significant impacts on student learning. based on a pre- or post-Labor Day opening day of different school systems in Virginia. The university's report did define the three justifications for the law:²

First, the supposition is that tourist destinations in Virginia will attract incremental Labor Day business that otherwise they would lose if public schools opened earlier.

Second, supporters believe that later public school openings enable touristoriented businesses to employ high school teenagers who otherwise might be forced to quit their jobs earlier because of their school responsibilities.

Third, it is believed that schools can reduce air conditioning costs if they open after Labor Day.

The K-12 schools in Virginia are managed by counties and cities, not by a state agency. A substantial percentage of local property taxes go to support local schools. Local school boards are responsible for hiring/firing school superintendents, building and renovating school buildings, and budgeting for school operations. Local schol boards and superintendents want the flexibility to set their own school calendars, to respond to local priorities.

Since Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, the options for local school officials are limited. Local officials do not have authority to determine their school system's opening day unless the General Assembly specifically grants that authority.

Local officials are frustrated in part because the state has no restrictions that prevent colleges from bringing their students back to campus before Labor Day, which reduces the pool of potential workers for amusement parks over the holiday weekend. The amusement parks do not close down as soon as the high schools open; the parks find workers and do not close for the winter until long after the high schools have re-opened after Labor Day.

The executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents commented in 2015:³

The lobbying efforts on the part of the tourism industry are quite strong, and we’ve never had adequate votes in order to change the law.

School systems kept making the point that Virginia students needed an earlier start date in order to prepare for national tests, and the General Assembly modified the Kings Dominion law in 2019.

The legislature allowed school districts to open two weeks before Labor Day, so long as there were no classes on the Friday and Monday of that weekend. Those districts which had received waivers and opened as much as three weeks early had to adjust their schedules to comply with the new two-week window.

The Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association lobbied against the change. The president of that industry group highlighted how opening schools before Labor Day would reduce tourism-related business at the end of summer:⁴

We rely heavily on our end-of-August tourism season in Virginia Beach, Williamsburg and the Shenandoah Valley... We basically lose the last two weeks of August, which we refer to as our Black Friday. That's some of our best times.

Amusement Parks in Virginia

Local Government Autonomy and the Dillon Rule in Virginia

a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is a signature landmark of the Kings Dominion amusement park near Ashland
Source: Daveynin, Good night, Kings Dominion! (posted on Flickr)

Links

• Kings Dominion
• Slate
• Whose Dominion? Why do Virginia theme parks determine the state’s academic calendar? (December 5, 2011)
• Washingtonian
• Kings Dominion Law" Still Reigns in Virginia (August 25, 2014)

References