What you need to know
The Districtwide Educational Improvement Council, made up of teachers, parents and other community members, presented its recommended calendar for the 2026-27 school year to the board of trustees during a Nov. 6 work session. The board approved the calendar at its Nov. 10 meeting.
Key dates in the approved calendar include:
- Aug. 3: First day for teachers and staff
- Aug. 12: First day of school for students
- Oct. 12-16: Fall break
- Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving break
- Dec. 21-Jan. 1: Winter break
- March 15-19: Spring break
- May 27: Last day of school for students
- May 28: Last day of school for teachers and staff
Some context
The DEIC posted two potential calendars to the community for stakeholder input, one with a fall break in October and one without, district officials said.
As a district of innovation in Texas, CFISD receives more flexibility from the state to create an academic calendar that best suits the needs of the community, officials said. All calendars must include a minimum of 75,600 minutes for students, inclement weather days and a 187-day contract for teachers, per the Texas Education Code.
DEIC member and teacher David Hunt said they've considered adding a fall break for the past several years to compete with neighboring districts that offer the week off. CFISD students and staff in previous years have received about two days off from school in October, including Oct. 13-14 in 2025.
Trustee Lucas Scanlon said at the Nov. 6 work session that some parents expressed concern with having to request time off from work or source child care during the new fall break. Hunt said the DEIC couldn't find a clear resolution for the concern, but he said the 2026-27 calendar best met the needs of the community as a whole, including teachers. He said the new calendar includes "symmetry that hasn't existed before" with grading periods that better align with one another.
"What's good for teachers is always what's good for kids," Hunt said.
