2026-2027 calendar updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Short answer: no meaningful correlation, and the main reason is that states barely differ on this variable.
The variance is tiny. About 27–31 states plus DC require exactly 180 days, and the overall range is only 160 (Colorado, lowest) to 186 (Kansas, highest). When ~60% of states sit on the same value, you don't have enough spread to drive a correlation with anything.

Most of the "180 day requirement states" allow an hour substitute. NY allows up to 4 of the 180 days to be PD days (called superintendent conference days) so students can have as few as 176 days. California requires 180 student days but doesn't do the makeup day debacle that a few 180 day states like Maryland do. If bad weather or other emergencies happen in California those days are forgiven. It's Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut that have to deal with this makeup day nonsense.

Kansas says "186 days" but some places have less. It looks like they can go 1116 hours (1086 hours for grade 12), which is actually higher than Maryland's 1080 hour requirement for 1-8 but less than the 1170 hours HS requirement for 9-12.

Here is the Topeka, Kansas calendar. It doesn't come close to 186 days in any year. https://www.topekapublicschools.net/calendar
I counted 169 days between August 12 and May 21 with May 22,26-28 being possible makeup days so they could end before or after Memorial Day.
Even if it ends May 28, students will have off 74 days (May 29-31, June 1-30, July 1-31, August 1-10) with 2026-27 beginning on August 11.
Teachers will end May 29 at the latest and go back August 4 for 26-27 with at least 66 days off.
They also have 4 full weeks off of school (Thanksgiving week, 2 weeks end of December/start of January, 1 week in March) while many Maryland districts including MCPS are limited to 2 full weeks off during the year. Thus very few states require 180 or more actual calendar dates.
For those that do like Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut things can get very messy. In Massachusetts schools all have 3 or 4 full weeks off but the makeup days are resulting in a late June last day for part of that state. Boston is now ending on June 26.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thousands of American school districts start school in July despite your opinion that "no one should do this." It's normal for them. This isn't a "thoughts and prayers" type of situation.

I guarantee you I am NOT the only person who says NOBODY should do this. School in July is DISGUSTING, PUNISHING AND INHUMANE! I thought early August was rough enough but if they have a similar length of summer vacation and want Christmas to be in the middle of the school year then it is understandable though hot at the beginning of the year. There is NO reason to have school in July, as there is enough time to end the first semester before Christmas with an August start (which is the reason some schools start in early August in the first place). As for AP exams and SOL tests in May being the reason, why do you think they are in May? TO OPERATE ON A MID YEAR Christmas calendar!

School in July should be ILLEGAL unless its a specific summer school or summer enrichment program. No regular school year should begin (or end) in July!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thousands of American school districts start school in July despite your opinion that "no one should do this." It's normal for them. This isn't a "thoughts and prayers" type of situation.

I guarantee you I am NOT the only person who says NOBODY should do this. School in July is DISGUSTING, PUNISHING AND INHUMANE! I thought early August was rough enough but if they have a similar length of summer vacation and want Christmas to be in the middle of the school year then it is understandable though hot at the beginning of the year. There is NO reason to have school in July, as there is enough time to end the first semester before Christmas with an August start (which is the reason some schools start in early August in the first place). As for AP exams and SOL tests in May being the reason, why do you think they are in May? TO OPERATE ON A MID YEAR Christmas calendar!

School in July should be ILLEGAL unless its a specific summer school or summer enrichment program. No regular school year should begin (or end) in July!

Wow. You must have been absent that day in kindergarten when the teacher taught that not everyone in the world lives the same way you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thousands of American school districts start school in July despite your opinion that "no one should do this." It's normal for them. This isn't a "thoughts and prayers" type of situation.

I guarantee you I am NOT the only person who says NOBODY should do this. School in July is DISGUSTING, PUNISHING AND INHUMANE! I thought early August was rough enough but if they have a similar length of summer vacation and want Christmas to be in the middle of the school year then it is understandable though hot at the beginning of the year. There is NO reason to have school in July, as there is enough time to end the first semester before Christmas with an August start (which is the reason some schools start in early August in the first place). As for AP exams and SOL tests in May being the reason, why do you think they are in May? TO OPERATE ON A MID YEAR Christmas calendar!

School in July should be ILLEGAL unless its a specific summer school or summer enrichment program. No regular school year should begin (or end) in July!

You seem pretty dim. There are actually many good reasons these schools start earlier than MCPS.

Florida schools start in early August (or occasionally late July) primarily to align the first semester with winter break, allowing students to finish exams before the holidays and maximizing instructional time for spring testing.
Key reasons for the early start include:
Semester Alignment: Completing the first semester before Christmas enables students to take final exams immediately, rather than waiting three weeks after returning in January, which improves performance.
Spring Testing: An early start provides more instructional time before mandatory state assessments in the spring.
State Regulations: Florida Statute 1001.42 (f) requires school districts to begin the school year no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day, but they must also satisfy a minimum number of instructional days, which often pushes the start date to early August.
Calendar Flexibility: Starting early allows schools to build in more breaks throughout the year (e.g., in September/October or February).
This schedule also enables students to finish the school year in late May or early June, avoiding the need to run air conditioning for schools in late July/early August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many also start only after labor day.

Yes, like Maryland used to just a few years ago. People have the capacity to adjust to change (despite the drama llamas on this thread screaming that the sky is falling because we might start school a few days earlier in August.)

It's called lack of consideration for everyone involved. MCPS does not care about families who already have plans or for their employees who have plans, and expect everyone to change on a last minute whim because they didn't have their own sh*t together this year. So no-no one here is saying the sky is falling; we just expect better. You should too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is NO reason to have school in July, as there is enough time to end the first semester before Christmas with an August start (which is the reason some schools start in early August in the first place). As for AP exams and SOL tests in May being the reason, why do you think they are in May? TO OPERATE ON A MID YEAR Christmas calendar!

School in July should be ILLEGAL unless its a specific summer school or summer enrichment program. No regular school year should begin (or end) in July!

Anonymous wrote:
You seem pretty dim. There are actually many good reasons these schools start earlier than MCPS.

You are NOT reading the full post. I didn't say they couldn't start in early August if it means ending three weeks sooner at the other end but July? Never!

Florida schools start in early August (or occasionally late July) primarily to align the first semester with winter break, allowing students to finish exams before the holidays and maximizing instructional time for spring testing.
Key reasons for the early start include:
Semester Alignment: Completing the first semester before Christmas enables students to take final exams immediately, rather than waiting three weeks after returning in January, which improves performance.
Spring Testing: An early start provides more instructional time before mandatory state assessments in the spring.

Anonymous wrote:State Regulations: Florida Statute 1001.42 (f) requires school districts to begin the school year no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day, but they must also satisfy a minimum number of instructional days, which often pushes the start date to early August.
Calendar Flexibility: Starting early allows schools to build in more breaks throughout the year (e.g., in September/October or February).
This schedule also enables students to finish the school year in late May or early June, avoiding the need to run air conditioning for schools in late July/early August.

So which is it? Late July (should be banned Nationwide), early August or two weeks before Labor Day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many also start only after labor day.

Yes, like Maryland used to just a few years ago. People have the capacity to adjust to change (despite the drama llamas on this thread screaming that the sky is falling because we might start school a few days earlier in August.)

It's called lack of consideration for everyone involved. MCPS does not care about families who already have plans or for their employees who have plans, and expect everyone to change on a last minute whim because they didn't have their own sh*t together this year. So no-no one here is saying the sky is falling; we just expect better. You should too.

+1000

For real

This is not the first year of calendar drama. They extended the school year for 2024-2025 as well. When Taylor proposed and the BOE approved the 2025-26 and original 2026-27 calendars, they knew full well they only had one extra day built in and no realistic makeup days in the calendar.

What is being reported in Bethesda Today is a bunch of overpaid MCPS bureaucrats whining about how hard it is to comply with state law. GMAFB. It is their literal job, for which they are by no means underpaid, to figure it out. The chaos they are creating right now is a direct result of their intentional decision to not figure it out when they were supposed to.

[Anonymous]

The article in Bethesda Magazine is wildly biased and misleading about how MCPS got into this situation. The state requirements, particularly having make-up days in the spring when they are useful, are entirely reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article in Bethesda Magazine is wildly biased and misleading about how MCPS got into this situation. The state requirements, particularly having make-up days in the spring when they are useful, are entirely reasonable.

Agree.

Boy do I miss Caitlynn Peetz

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many also start only after labor day.

Yes, like Maryland used to just a few years ago. People have the capacity to adjust to change (despite the drama llamas on this thread screaming that the sky is falling because we might start school a few days earlier in August.)

It's called lack of consideration for everyone involved. MCPS does not care about families who already have plans or for their employees who have plans, and expect everyone to change on a last minute whim because they didn't have their own sh*t together this year. So no-no one here is saying the sky is falling; we just expect better. You should too.

+1000

For real

This is not the first year of calendar drama. They extended the school year for 2024-2025 as well. When Taylor proposed and the BOE approved the 2025-26 and original 2026-27 calendars, they knew full well they only had one extra day built in and no realistic makeup days in the calendar.

What is being reported in Bethesda Today is a bunch of overpaid MCPS bureaucrats whining about how hard it is to comply with state law. GMAFB. It is their literal job, for which they are by no means underpaid, to figure it out. The chaos they are creating right now is a direct result of their intentional decision to not figure it out when they were supposed to.

YES. They could have done the appropriate calendar planning for the 2027-2028 calendar that they passed in December 2025, building in more snow days into the school year and adding contingency days in the spring that they used in the order they were needed. They did not. This cluster is 100% on Taylor and his central office crew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article in Bethesda Magazine is wildly biased and misleading about how MCPS got into this situation. The state requirements, particularly having make-up days in the spring when they are useful, are entirely reasonable.

T. Taylor wrote the article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Wow. You must have been absent that day in kindergarten when the teacher taught that not everyone in the world lives the same way you do.

School in July should be banned anywhere in the US and probably anywhere with a similar climate pattern, Canada, European Countries. Places in the tropics have the same weather all year round so it doesn't matter there and those further south have opposite seasons where December, January and February is equivalent to June, July and August here, thus in the Southern hemisphere south of the tropics there should be no school in January. Since Christmas is in their summer it would be expected for a late February to early March start with a mid-year vacation in part of-not all of July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow. You must have been absent that day in kindergarten when the teacher taught that not everyone in the world lives the same way you do.

School in July should be banned anywhere in the US and probably anywhere with a similar climate pattern, Canada, European Countries. Places in the tropics have the same weather all year round so it doesn't matter there and those further south have opposite seasons where December, January and February is equivalent to June, July and August here, thus in the Southern hemisphere south of the tropics there should be no school in January. Since Christmas is in their summer it would be expected for a late February to early March start with a mid-year vacation in part of-not all of July.

You are bizarre and way too invested in this. DH's family is all down south, as are some of my relatives, and I've literally never heard them complain about going back to school at the end of July or early August. They're all sick of the summer weather by then and had nice less-crowded beach vacations while our kids were still in school. They are fine, truly. SImilarly my family up north that doesn't start school until after Labor Day are fine too. It's seemingly only the DMV that loses their mind about the potential shift in the calendar by a few days.

(FWIW I completely agree with others that the change should not be for this year, but 2027-2028. This is a mess of Taylor's own making by refusing to build enough snow days into the calendar and then actually use them)

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why Taylor has proposed this. Just the proposal is causing needless stress. When he could just.
1. Cancel the transition day
2. Have school on November 9
3. Make Eid al Adha a make up day and tell the Muslim community they will try to get state law changed on Good Friday/Easter Monday so they can take it off nexttime

this seems like a great and easy solution, I don't understand why it's not the one they are going with. we are not rich by any means and due to a number of factors beyond my control, that week is the only week we can take a vacation this summer. we've already paid for it (not because we're cheap, but because that's just how it works where we're going). my DD is special needs and will be starting middle school so she just won't be okay missing the first few days, leaving us in a really tough position. this whole situation is really frustrating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article in Bethesda Magazine is wildly biased and misleading about how MCPS got into this situation. The state requirements, particularly having make-up days in the spring when they are useful, are entirely reasonable.

Agree.

Boy do I miss Caitlynn Peetz

I know! She was great.