Four Days On, Three Days Off—for Now

When the Independence School District switched to a four-day school week in 2023, it became the first and only large district in the Kansas City metro—and one of the biggest in the country—to make the leap. While some embraced it, others raised objections from the outset, specifically parents. The shortened schedule soon became entangled in a legal and political battle that is now headed to the ballot box.

Currently, classes run Tuesday through Friday, with slightly longer days. Mondays are reserved for teacher planning, professional development and optional “Fifth-Day” enrichment programs for students who need extra help or childcare.

District officials say the change was designed to help recruit and retain teachers amid widespread staffing shortages. “We had to do something different,” Superintendent Dale Herl told KCUR when the plan launched.

Those opposed to the four-day week have voiced concerns that it inhibits socialization, learning, community involvement, mental health and, for low-income families, childcare costs and meal access. 

The Independence School District transitioned in December 2022, when the ISD Board voted to adopt the four-day week for the 2023–24 school year. The first shortened calendar took effect in August 2023, and by June 2024, the district had completed its first full year on the new model. As of August 2025, ISD is in its third consecutive year operating on the four-day schedule.

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, nearly a third of the state’s districts now use a four-day calendar—most of them small and rural. But Independence remains the only district within the Kansas City metro’s core counties (Jackson, Clay, Platte, Cass and Ray) to make the shift.

Due to the growing number of school districts considering a four-day week, in 2024, Missouri lawmakers passed a law requiring school districts to seek voter approval before adopting or maintaining an abbreviated schedule. The ISD filed a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality, arguing that it unfairly targets districts already operating under a shortened schedule. In early October, a judge rejected the district’s argument that the law mandating a vote was unconstitutional, meaning the district is now required to hold an election on the four-day week. Not wanting to take any chances, the ISD had already moved ahead, voting to place the four-day school schedule question on the November ballot with the Jackson County Board of Election Commissioners earlier in the year, making it official. Voters residing within the ISD will be asked:

“Shall the school board of Independence 30 School District adopt the provisions of Section 171.028, RSMo, establishing a four-day school week for the next ten years in the district of Independence?”

For now, ISD remains on its four-day schedule for the 2025–26 school year, even as teachers, families and state officials await the will of the voters. 

The Independence School District transitioned in December 2022, when the ISD Board voted to adopt the four-day week for the 2023–24 school year. 

The post Four Days On, Three Days Off—for Now appeared first on Kansas City Magazine.