The Richardson ISD board of trustees approved the academic calendars for both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years at its Dec. 11 meeting.
The details
The approved 2026-27 calendar runs 174 days. The first semester will begin Wednesday, Aug. 12 and end Dec. 18, followed by winter break from Dec. 21-Jan. 5. The second semester will start Wednesday, Jan. 6 and end on May 26.
Thanksgiving break will run from Nov. 23-27 and spring break is tentatively planned for March 15-19, although Superintendent Tabitha Branum said the district is waiting for Dallas College’s confirmation of their spring break dates, which RISD tries to align with.
Other student holidays for 2026-27 include:
Sept. 7: Labor DayOct. 8-12: Fall breakNov. 2-3: Student holiday/staff exchange daysJan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 15: Student holiday/staff professional learning day
The approved 2027-28 calendar, also 174 days, will start on Wednesday, Aug. 11. The first semester will end on Dec. 17 and winter break is planned for Dec. 20-Jan. 4. The second semester will start on Wednesday, Jan. 5 and end on May 24.
Thanksgiving break will be Nov. 22-26 and spring break is tentatively set for March 13-17, again pending Dallas College’s dates.
Other student holidays for 2027-28 include:
Sept. 6: Labor DayOct. 7-11: Fall breakNov. 1-2: Student holiday/staff professional learning day
Jan. 17: Martin Luther King Jr. DayFeb. 14: Student holiday/staff professional day
Another thing
The Texas Education Agency Additional Days School Year initiative provides formula funding to support up to 30 additional days of school at eligible campuses during the summer in order to address summer learning loss. Superintendent Branum said the district is exploring options to implement this program at Dover Elementary, RISD Academy and Audelia Creek Elementary, where specific students would be invited to participate based on criteria the district will determine.
“This is not saying we are doing this,” Branum said. “We believe this could be a viable option for these three campuses if we have an opportunity to receive some funding and some investment from TEA to help us with that design process.”
Pending funding from TEA, the three eligible campuses would work to design the program during the 2026-2027 school year and implement it for the first time in summer 2027.
These campuses require a 175-day school year to be eligible for the funding grant, one day more than the proposed RISD calendars. The planning committee recommended that the ADSY-designated campuses start their fall semester one day earlier than the rest of the district. The three campuses will start on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in 2026 and on Tuesday, Aug. 10 in 2027.
What else?
The calendars also earmark make-up days in case weather causes school closures. March 26 and April 23 serve as the make-up days for 2026-27, while April 14 and April 17 are the make-up days for 2027-28.
Information on RISD’s 2025-26 academic calendar can be found here.