The North East ISD board of trustees Sept. 12 voted to make Election Day, Nov. 8, a student and teacher holiday.

To maintain the district’s 180-day calendar, the district must extend the school year by one day to accommodate the new holiday, according to district officials. For most campuses, the end of the school year will now be May 26.

However, for campuses that offer an extended school year or are a year-round campus, the makeup day will be announced on a later date, according to the district. Those campuses include Serna, Larkspur, Jackson-Keller, and Castle Hills elementary schools as well as the Academy of Creative Education.

According to the Texas Election Code, public buildings, including schools, are required to be made available for use as polling places.

“As a district, we cannot prohibit the use of a school as a voting location,” according to district officials in an email that was sent to parents.“The decision to make Election Day a student and teacher holiday was made with the security and safety of our students, staff and visitors in mind.”