Social media was abuzz with outlandish speculation that President Donald Trump issued an executive order reducing the U.S. school year to six months.
The rumor snowballed on TikTok before spilling over onto X (formerly Twitter), with students posting jokes, or wishes, that this might spell an early spring break from high school. But all the excitement amounts to nothing.
One viral tweet stated, “I heard on TikTok that Trump is shortening the school year to only 6 months but I can’t find anything on the internet about it.”. Please this be real bruh I js wanna escape ts fuck ahh high school already????.” Another added, “Trump told school only 6 months for now on hope his orange head a** not lying.” Such jokes might have accumulated likes, but they are founded on nothing more than cyber talk.
Fact check? There is no such executive order. Trump never said anything about halving the school year. Elon Musk’s AI bot Grok even chimed in, labeling the claim “false” and noting that Trump’s recent education actions include budget cuts and reorganizing the Department of Education, neither of which includes altering the length of the school calendar.
For perspective, the president can’t even make a decision on whether school should be in session for six months or nine months. Education policy in the United States is managed on the state level. Each state determines its own requirements of how many days students need to attend school. Most states fall around 180 instructional days, which equates to about six months of actual classroom time. The entire school year, including the weekends, holidays, and breaks, generally runs nearly nine months, beginning around late August or early September and continuing until late May or early June.
Recent research makes it clear why reducing school hours would be a bad move. A 2024 report issued by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University determined that students continue to struggle to recover from the monumental learning loss that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most are less than halfway recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
In January 2024, the National Assessment of Educational Progress published concerning figures revealing drops in fourth and eighth-grade math and reading scores in several states, with most below the national average. That’s a frightening thought for educators and policymakers, too.
But even with the obstacles, there has been a surprising change in students’ attitudes toward school. A June 2024 survey saw Gen Z students grade their schools the best they’ve given them in years—something few would have guessed following the disruptions of the pandemic.
So where does that leave the “Trump slashes school year to six months” rumor? Firmly in the false-info bin. The notion is a nice post, but no policy, no order, no factual premise exists behind it. Decisions regarding the school calendar are still up to states, and the existing model, a little over 180 instructional days, continues to be the standard across the country.
For students who dream of a radically shorter school year, this rumor is wishful thinking rather than fact. For the time being, the nine-month school calendar remains in place, and revisions would need to originate from state lawmakers, not the Oval Office.
Leo Cruz brings sharp insights into the world of politics, offering balanced reporting and analysis on the latest policies, elections, and global political events. With years of experience covering campaigns and interviewing world leaders, Leo ensures readers are always informed and engaged.
