Washington School’s Newest Students Met Teachers Tuesday
The hallways at Washington School in Hibbing, as well as schools across the Range and the state, buzzed with eager energy on Tuesday as students and parents walked through the doors to find classrooms, meet teachers, and shake off first-day jitters.
For families across Hibbing and the Iron Range, the meet-your-teacher, open house tradition offers a chance to unpack school supplies, find desks, and put friendly faces to names before the official first bell rings on Wednesday morning.
Most students across the country, and a few in Minnesota, have already been in class for a week or more. Returning to class right after Labor Day feels like a natural rite of passage for most Minnesota students. It’s actually more than a nostalgic local custom-it has been a state law for roughly four decades.
Minnesota has generally prohibited public school districts from starting regular classes before Labor Day since the mid-1980s. The statute was originally championed to protect the state’s vital summer tourism and resort economies, support youth participation in 4-H and the Minnesota State Fair, and allow families one final stretch of summer weather before the long Minnesota winter rolls in.
Over the years, the post-Labor Day mandate became a defining pillar of Minnesota culture. While exceptions have occasionally been made, the post-holiday start has remained a near-universal rule for over 300 school districts.
The steadfast rule faced a unique calendar quirk because Labor Day fell unusually late this year, pushing the final days of school deeper into June and compressing instructional hours. Lawmakers approved a temporary legislative flexibility allowing districts to open their doors slightly earlier for the 2026 and 2027 fall terms if local school boards chose to do so. The Rock Ridge School District was one district that opened last week.
For Hibbing and most districts, the new bell rings Wednesday morning.
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