There are two bills in the state house calling for Ohio schools to start their academic year after the Labor Day holiday.

21 News has learned from looking into the issues that there are strong arguments both 'for' and 'against' starting after the holiday that marks the unofficial end of summer.

Children in the Boardman School District are already back to school before Labor Day.  They're just one example of Mahoning Vally Schools hitting the books in August, and the Superintendent says it's for good reason.

Tim Saxton is the Superintendent of Boardman Schools, "We've had to push it back because we want to stay competitive. We want our kids to get the same amount of instruction as other kids across the State of Ohio, and be prepared for the state testing."

Ohio lawmakers have proposed Senate Bill 34 and House Bill 549, both proposing that Ohio schools start after Labor Day, and lawmakers also have their reasons.

They believe starting after the holiday is better for tourism and family vacations, the additional time allows students working summer jobs to stay on long, and the summer heat in older school buildings can be overwhelming if the temperatures reach the high 80's and 90's.

State Senator Joe Schiavoni says, "It cuts both ways.  I know if the argument is it's just as hot in June, maybe some years, but it seems like August and September you really get that hot stretch."

Here in the Mahoning Valley there's a number of reasons why some believe schools should start after Labor Day, and the Canfield Fair is one of them.

Canfield Schools start the Monday before the holiday, but then take a break for the Canfield Fair because so many students work at the fair.

Canfield High School Student Emily Yurchison says, "I feel like it would be just as beneficial to start afterwards as it is before just because we only have two days before and then we go on a six-day break again."

As for Dexter May who will be a fourth grader at Western Reserve, "Everyone deserves to have a nice long summer vacations that's what I think so they get more time to enjoy their family."

Senator Schiavoni says if voted into law, the bills give individual school districts and their communities a mechanism to opt out.