Click here to read the ruling (.pdf)
Later that year, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ruled against the district. In 2008, an appeals court reversed Manning's decision, and now the Supreme Court has concurred after hearing oral arguments in December.
The ruling is seen as a major victory for the Wake County School Board. A defeat would have meant the district may have been forced to consider abandoning the year-round concept altogether.
The parents of roughly 1000 students in the district have not given permission for their children to attend year-round classes. The school board has yet to decide if it will continue to use consent forms or immediately enforce the ruling for the upcoming school year. A decision on that could come as soon as Tuesday.
The district wants to use the year-round concept because it helps with overcrowding. Schools can take more students because the buildings are in constant use. They rotate four groups of students through a schedule of nine weeks of classes and three-week vacations.
During the 2007-2008 school year, 22 elementary and middle schools used the year-round calendar.
