Four-day school week

With more school districts adopting a four-day school week, educators and parents are grappling with a question that isn’t easy to answer: What trade-offs come with a shortened school week, and are those trade-offs worth it? It depends who you ask.

A new Missouri law requires the school district to get voter approval to continue the four-day week. But whether Independence voters will weigh in on keeping the shorter schedule may depend on the outcome of a lawsuit the school district filed against the state.

Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick criticized the Independence school district for spending money on a lawsuit attempting to overturn a requirement for a public vote on the four-day school week.

The Midwest Newsroom is examining the effect that shorter school weeks are having in communities across Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. We invite you to share your opinion using the form in this article.