Desoto independent school district

DeSoto ISD Prepares for 2026 -27 Academic Calendar with draft proposals and key information

Posted on 01/16/2026

The DeSoto Independent School District 2026-27 academic calendar options are now open for review and selection by the school community stakeholders, as discussed in the December 2025 meeting of the DeSoto ISD School Board trustees.  

 

The purpose of the academic calendar is to provide key information regarding academic and instructional time for the academic year, including but not limited to professional development days, day-to-day operations, assessment dates, holidays, instructional breaks, and instructional minutes.   

 

The District’s Calendar Steering Committee, along with the Research, Evaluation, Design department, district principals, and the District Educational Improvement Committee members, collaborated with the following district departments to create the academic calendar proposals reflective of the required minimum 75,600 instructional minutes:   

·        Curriculum and Instruction  

·        Professional Development  

·        Bilingual/LOTE  

·        Advanced Academics  

·        Special Populations  

·        Human Capital Management  

 

 The district offered three draft proposals for the academic calendar. All three options include the following:   

·        Number of teacher days  

·        Number of full days vs half days  

·        Holidays and Instructional days   

·        Grading period dates  

·        List of professional development days  

·        Number of assessment days  

  

All school calendar drafts consist of 187 teacher contract days, with a total of 172 instructional days for both Calendar B and Calendar C. Additionally, there are four half instructional days for all three calendars. Of these, two are designated as wellness days for all calendar options.   

A key difference among the three academic calendar drafts is the fall break in October 2026. Calendar A excludes the fall break, while Calendars B and C include breaks from Oct 13-16, and Oct. 5-9, respectively.  Additionally, Calendar A has 16 professional development days while Calendars B and C have 19 professional development days each. Also, Calendar A allows 27 holidays while Calendars B and C offer 31.

 

 Comparison of Fall Break and Week 2 Differences Across Calendars:  

Calendar	Fall Break	Fall Break Details
A	No fall break
B	Includes fall break	Oct 13-16, 2026
C	Includes fall break	Oct. 5-9, 2026

  

Another note is that all calendars include  Good Friday and César Chávez Day, which is on March 31, 2026,  will be observed in all calendars.  

  

Calendar	Total Teacher Contract Days	Total Instructional Days	Half Instructional Days	Wellness Days	Good Friday	Caesar Chavez Day
Calendar B	187	172	4	2	Yes	Observed
Calendar C	187	172	4	2	Yes	Observed

  

As DeSoto ISD moves forward in shaping the academic calendar for the 2026-27 school year, we encourage all stakeholders—students, parents, teachers, and staff—to participate in the ongoing discussions and provide feedback.  

 

Please note that all proposed calendar drafts align the spring break dates with the Dallas College academic calendar due to the current district academic partnership with the early college programs.

DeSoto ISD seeks stakeholder feedback on the proposed calendar options by way of the survey linked below starting January 21 thru  February 13:

 

 

  Click to Complete the Survey