Houston ISD students will return to class on Aug. 10 for the first day of school of the 2026-27 school year.
The state’s largest school district will resume classes a few days earlier than most Houston-area districts, which largely begin on Aug. 12.
In HISD, classes will end for students on May 28 — a shift from the district’s typical practice of ending the school year for students in June. Teachers, however, will end classes on June 1.
HISD will have Thanksgiving break from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27, winter break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, and spring break from March 8 to March 12.
The district will have additional holidays on Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Memorial Day. It also will not hold classes on March 26, which is Good Friday.
HISD has seven staff professional development days planned on Sept. 21, Oct. 9, Nov. 6, Jan. 4, Feb. 15, April 16 and June 1, according to the district’s 2026-27 calendar. Students do not attend school on those days.
Some of HISD’s highest-performing schools that have new outside managers may follow different academic calendars in the new school year.
Students at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts will start on Aug. 18 — more than a week later than the rest of HISD — and end on May 27. The school will have the same holidays and staff development days as the district.