Throngs of people cover the concrete walkways of Dorney Park, an amusement park about an hour north of Philadelphia. Employees under the age of 18 make up about 40 percent of the park's summer workforce, and, park officials say, are even more crucial to its operations later in the season, when college-student employees go back to school and international workers return home. That seems to be a message resonating in other states where, after several years of seeing schools set earlier starting dates, even in July, policymakers are shifting the calendar pendulum back toward Labor Day. This article presents the different views of parents, teachers' unions, and representatives of the tourism industry on the issue of early school openings. While most states let school districts make their own calendars, 11 states have reined in that authority and set statewide starting dates close to the first of September. On one side of the debate are many school officials, who increasingly have moved school openings up to accommodate test schedules and to reduce the academic ground lost by students over the traditional three-month summer break.