With the initiation of the 2017-2018 school year comes a new beginning for Katy ISD policies. All high schools are now required to have no homework days at least once a six weeks, and school now begins and ends earlier in the year. Staff and students alike are reacting with various perspectives towards these changes.

“The main purpose is to promote families coming together. We want them to spend some time together… and obviously for students, no homework,” Superintendent Lance Hindt said, in response to the newly implemented no homework nights.

According to the district calendar, no homework nights will be Sept. 13, Oct. 18, Nov. 29, Jan 24, March 7, and May 2. These days have been designated in response to efforts by staff, students and parents to bring awareness to the pressure homework has on students, especially if they are inundated with it regularly along with extracurriculars.

“Homework free days are very helpful for athletes who come home late after practice,” Deep Parikh, senior football player, said. “Especially if it’s on a game day, because we don’t have to worry about coming home exhausted and then having to do more work.”

For some students, however, no homework days do not live up to their assumed meaning.

“The concept of homework free days is actually really good because it offers reprieve from our workload,” said sophomore Alefiyah Gandhi. “But, while the intentions of homework free days are good, a lot of classes add additional homework the days before or after the homework free day. In reality, they don’t relieve as much workload as they displace.”

The implementation of earlier dates for the beginning and ending of school has not had much of an impact on staff and students.

“I don’t think there’s much of a difference between dates,” said Tiffany Lee, junior. “As long as I get the same amount of weeks of summer break, I’m not bothered.”

Overall, the new policies are meant to improve students’ school experience.

“Even these few changes have really helped me to lighten my schedule,” said Lee.