PENNSYLVANIA, USA — For West Scranton High School sophomore Julia Farkaly, longer school days and shortened school weeks are now possible in all of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.
Known as Act 56, the new law, which just went into effect, allows school districts to choose their instructional school year.
The old standard of 180 days or now, perhaps by hours.
"So for the elementary school level a minimum of 900 hours throughout the school year and for high school, secondary level a minimum of 990 hours," said Christopher Lilienthal, Assistant Communications Director of Pennsylvania State Education Association.
The state's largest teachers union, the PSEA, is in favor of the new law.
A former teacher and now grandpa to a Valley View senior, Gary Ruby, says he likes it too, "The school week is so long and dragged out sometimes that things drop off a little bit, so I think it would be a big help."
Others like Tony Berardi of Throop think the law is too open-ended and that other issues need to be prioritized before schedules start to change, "Maybe they can make some adjustments, you know, in school in terms of content that probably would help more."
"Whenever we are talking about scheduling changes, what's really paramount for school districts to take into account is how this will impact the quality of education for Pennsylvania students," said Lilienthal.
The union adds that no district will make significant changes to its scheduling without input from parents, faculty, and support staff.