To avoid teacher layoffs, Hawaii has just cut 17 days from the school year making it the state with the shortest school year in the U.S. with just 163 days.
The school week in Hawaii will be four days instead of five for at least the next two years.
The U.S. school year is 180 days on average—among the shortest in the world. In Japan, it’s 243 days. In South Korea, it’s 220.
How can Hawaii expect to strengthen the American worker’s global competiveness by shortening the school year? That’s the wrong direction.