Anonymous
Post 02/20/2026 00:35     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Curious — does McPS allow college kids to act as substitutes? My sibling is up in Massachusetts and they are so short on subs they are using college students. That would solve the problem of the fact that they won’t have staff to that last week.
Anonymous
Post 02/20/2026 00:02     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:FYI. There is a huge misperception that MCPS must grant non-instructional days for religious holidays. Legally, they must grant a student excused absences.


Right. And admin cannot deny an employee leave for a religious holiday. So as long as the number of employees requesting leave for the religious holiday doesn’t put an undue burden on the substitute system, there is no reason to have a systemwide closure.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 23:27     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
FYI. There is a huge misperception that MCPS must grant non-instructional days for religious holidays. Legally, they must grant a student excused absences.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 23:26     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Apparently the state legislature may change the law to allow / account for hours, not just days and that we may revert to the June 18th as the final day. I guess it all just depends what the general assembly decides in the coming weeks. This way, the COMAR stipulations cited would not automatically apply in the denial.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 23:25     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would June 23rd be off, if we have to go until the 25th?


State primary elections and county elections. A large number of schools are used as polling stations so they could not have students
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 23:20     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Why on earth would June 23rd be off, if we have to go until the 25th?
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 22:48     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:Welllll this all looks like some extraordinaryly poor planning from MCPS.

Wtaf. Get it together. It’s a holiday make-up day! It’s now a make-up day! Now it’s a holiday again! Now school is forever into the summer!


This is what happens when you have a part-time, incompetent, underpaid BOE overseeing a $3 billion dollar school system and a superintendent who thinks his ish doesn't stink.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 22:30     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Welllll this all looks like some extraordinaryly poor planning from MCPS.

Wtaf. Get it together. It’s a holiday make-up day! It’s now a make-up day! Now it’s a holiday again! Now school is forever into the summer!
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 22:26     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.


If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.



They could start earlier in the year and add more days into the calendar. And they could use the PD days like the end-of-quarter planning days, although some of these are already contingency days and MCPS refuses to use them too.


I guarantee the county would be upset if schools opened up while the Agricultural Fair is in session. They invest a TON of money into the fair and the fairgrounds and if everyone is in school they will lose a ton
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 22:19     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.


If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.



They could start earlier in the year and add more days into the calendar. And they could use the PD days like the end-of-quarter planning days, although some of these are already contingency days and MCPS refuses to use them too.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 21:37     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.


If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.



+1
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 21:36     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:These were the 6 contingency days. Ridiculous how early some of these were.

If the school year is disrupted by emergencies and schools are closed three or more days, dates identified as possible make-up instructional days include: October 17 and November 3, 2025; January 26, March 20, April 15, June 18, June 22, June 23, June 24, June 25 and June 26, 2026.


They don't need two in the fall. One is sufficient in case of something great.

It's a moot point though when they refuse to use the days they identify


Keep in mind that, during the snow emergency, the state granted a blanket waiver for any and all MD school systems to make up a snow day on President's Day. MCPS refused to do so. If they had made up that day and used 3/20, they could have ended on 6/18. There is a caveat in the law that states that if the extension of school by 3 days ends school on a Monday, the state will be an exception for that, which would have very likely happened if they had used those days within the calendar. They could have also likely gotten approval to make up a day on 3/17.



I am sure BOE did not want people to go to school on President's Day because it messed up a 4 day weekend. March 20 is a religious holiday. What is March 17? I thought we already have school on that day.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 21:33     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So what 3 contingency days could have been used?
March 20, June 18 and ??
Just do that and resubmit. June 25 is outrageous for a last day


April 15 was the other one.

They should just take the asterisks off the contingency days on next year's calendar, they're a joke.


I can guarantee you the teachers union would rather negotiate a half day on 4/15 than work until 6/25!




absolutely!
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 21:33     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.


If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.

Anonymous
Post 02/19/2026 21:29     Subject: MCPS updated calendar is insane
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:These were the 6 contingency days. Ridiculous how early some of these were.

If the school year is disrupted by emergencies and schools are closed three or more days, dates identified as possible make-up instructional days include: October 17 and November 3, 2025; January 26, March 20, April 15, June 18, June 22, June 23, June 24, June 25 and June 26, 2026.


They don't need two in the fall. One is sufficient in case of something great.

It's a moot point though when they refuse to use the days they identify



Like all things - MCPS makes a plan in name only. Just hopes that things work out.