Marshall Public Schools is among a number of districts that are seeking permission from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to start the 2026-27 school year before the conclusion of the 2026 Missouri State Fair on Aug. 23.

Supt. Caleb Petet and Deputy Supt. David Reinke informed the Board of Education at their Tuesday, Jan. 13 meeting that they had submitted the waiver request ahead of DESE’s monthly meeting. Petet says the state’s push to see more classroom instruction days, combined with a later start date for this summer’s state fair, led Marshall to seek the waiver.
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Eight other districts, all in Southwest Missouri, have also submitted waiver requests. In their requests to DESE, school superintendents cited the prospect of having as few as 66 instruction days in the fall semester without the waiver, with their school year ending after Memorial Day and their summer school schedule compressed to conclude before June 30, 2027. The requests were discussed at the most recent state board of education meeting last Tuesday.