State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox wants local districts to push back the start of classes to late August. The request is aimed to help Georgia’s place in federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ requirements. The extra time would allow state education officials to include retesting numbers for many students, instead of using the failing marks that many receive the first time they take Georgia’s standardized exams. The request is voluntary for each of the state’s 180 school districts—the change would be effective in fall 2009. Cox will present the proposal at the Georgia School Boards Association meeting this coming weekend in Savannah.
