April 7, 2026 – Schools will be closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving next school year, following approval of the updated 2026–27 school calendar by the School Board on Tuesday.
The revised calendar comes after weeks of discussion and input gathered by the district’s calendar committee, which includes both parent and employee stakeholder groups.
As part of the process, the committee reviewed community feedback and historically low attendance days, including the week of Thanksgiving.
“The feedback we received overwhelmingly showed strong support for not having any instructional days during Thanksgiving week, rather than operating on a shortened two-day schedule,” said Corey Wright, Chief Officer of Accountability and Assessment, who leads this process.
To make this change possible, the committee recommended shifting professional learning days originally scheduled in November and eliminating one weather day.
Additional calendar updates include:
Schools will now be closed for students on both the Thursday and Friday before Spring Break, instead of just Friday.
Schools will now be closed for students on Oct. 12 and 13, instead of only Oct. 12.
Schools will now be open for students on the Thursday and Friday following Veterans Day.
The first and last day of school, as well as Winter Break and Spring Break, remain unchanged.
Weather Days
The updated calendar includes four weather days, all scheduled in the spring semester: March 29, April 26, June 1, and June 2.
If school days are lost due to inclement weather, these designated weather days will be converted to instructional days in chronological order. If weather-related closures require the use of days scheduled after the last day of school, the calendar will be adjusted accordingly.
If any designated weather days are not needed, those days will be treated as “School Closed” for students and will serve as workdays for non-10-month employees.
The Calendar Committee
The calendar committee is comprised of parent groups including the PTA, employee groups representing all major operations of the school district, Duval Teachers United (DTU), local post-secondary institutions, and other community stakeholders.
Each year, the calendar committee begins its work by reviewing approved calendars while considering guidelines from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), including:
Starting the school year for students on August 10 or later
Considering Florida Public Schools Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) survey weeks
Including contractually required planning days for teachers
Providing additional professional development days for teachers and United Office employees
Incorporating weather days
Aligning with the state’s testing calendar window
The committee is currently reviewing potential updates to the 2027–28 and 2028–29 school calendars. Any changes will be presented for School Board review and approval before being finalized.
Viewing the New Calendar
The new calendar is available to review on the district’s website: https://www.duvalschools.org/page/calendar2627
While the district no longer produces calendar PDFs for public distribution, a PDF is available for viewing within the April Board Agenda. Please note that two calendars are included in the link; the updated and approved version is labeled “Draft Version A,” as this was the version presented to the Board for review and approval.