Chief of Staff Shawna Miller presented the board with two calendar options at the Jan. 7 workshop: one with 435 daily instructional minutes and one with 445 minutes. If the district adopts the second option it could mean fewer school days for students, Miller said.
The details
LISD staff presented two calendar options after receiving feedback from parents and staff last fall. The options vary in start dates, instructional minutes and number of school days.
Option A includes 435 daily instructional minutes and 175 school days. In this option, students will begin on Aug. 12 and end May 22, 2026. It will also have three staff work days, a four-day weekend for students in October and a three-day weekend in February.
There is no school on Election Day Nov. 4 and Dec. 19 and March 13, 2026 are early release days.
Option A important dates:
- District holidays: Sept. 1, Oct. 13, Jan. 19, 2026, April 3, 2026
- Professional Development Day and teacher work days/Student Holiday: Oct. 10, Jan. 5, 2026 and Feb. 16, 2026
- Thanksgiving break: Nov. 24-28
- Winter break: Dec. 22-Jan. 5, 2026
- Spring break: March 16-20, 2026
- Bad weather day: April 6, 2026
There is no school on Election Day Nov. 4, but staff will work remotely. This option has early release days Dec. 19 and March 13, 2026.
Option B important dates:
- District holidays: Sept. 1, Oct.13, Jan. 19, 2026, Feb. 16, 2026 and April 3, 2026
- Professional Development Day and teacher work days/Student Holiday: Oct. 10, Nov. 4, Jan. 5, 2026 and Feb. 13, 2026
- Thanksgiving break: Nov. 24-28
- Winter break: Dec. 22-Jan. 5, 2026
- Spring break: March 16-20, 2026
- Bad weather day: April 6, 2026 and May 22, 20226
The state requires all school districts to have at least 75,600 minutes of instruction each year. Extending the daily instruction time will allow the district to meet this requirement with three fewer school days which will be used as teacher work days and a bad weather day, according to district documents.
“I am very concerned about reducing the instructional calendar by two or three days,” Trustee Buddy Bonner said.
Should the district approve calendar Option B the additional instructional time each day will affect some start and end times for students across multiple grade levels, Miller said.
Going forward
LISD officials will send emails to staff and parents Jan. 16 for their input, Miller said. Recipients will have until Jan. 27 to respond. Officials will then consider the feedback and provide a recommendation to the board for approval at the Feb. 10 board meeting.
Whichever instructional time the board decides will set the standard going forward, board president Jenny Proznik said.
“If we go with 445 minutes, then that's what we are doing for the foreseeable future and that's something to think about considering the three less instructional days,” Proznik said.
