DCPS Calendar 2026-2027: Important Dates, Holidays, and Religious Observances

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 governs the academic schedule for the District of Columbia Public Schools, the traditional public school system serving Washington, DC, and covers 180 instructional days across four marking terms from Monday, August 24, 2026, through Thursday, June 17, 2027.

DCPS finalized this schedule as part of a three-year release covering School Years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029, after collecting feedback from more than 1,800 community members in a fall 2024 survey.

That feedback shaped three specific changes for the 2026-2027 school year: a two-week winter break, a spring break aligned with the anticipated breaks in neighboring Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and a school year that ends before the Juneteenth holiday.

DCPS revised the religious observances section of this calendar in May 2026, after the original SY26-29 calendars were shared.

The current version, published June 11, 2026, adds the second day of Rosh Hashanah as a full-day observance and removes the last day of Sukkot from the list.

The dates and tables below reflect this current, corrected version.

DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 Overview

DCPS, short for District of Columbia Public Schools, operates 117 traditional public schools under Interim Chancellor Dr. Kim Jackson and is distinct from DC’s public charter school sector.

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 applies to all 117 traditional DCPS schools; it does not apply to DC’s 123 public charter schools, which set independent academic calendars.

When does the DCPS 2026-2027 school year start and end? The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 runs from Monday, August 24, 2026, to Thursday, June 17, 2027, covering 180 instructional days across four marking terms, with winter break from December 21 to January 1 and spring break from March 22 to 26.

First Day of School

The first day of school for DCPS students in the 2026-2027 school year is Monday, August 24, 2026. Students in grades Pre-K3 through 12 begin on this date, with one exception described below.

New educators complete orientation, and staff complete professional development days in the weeks immediately before the 24th, concluding the week of Monday, August 17, 2026.

First Day for Pre-K Students

Pre-K students follow a staggered start and begin on Thursday, August 27, 2026, three school days after the general first day. This staggered entry lets Pre-K teachers complete individual family conferences and classroom orientation before their youngest students arrive.

Last Day of School

The last day of school for DCPS students in the 2026-2027 school year is Thursday, June 17, 2027. Seniors finish one day earlier, on Wednesday, June 16, 2027, to allow time for grade certification ahead of graduation ceremonies.

If the district uses any of its two planned snow-day make-up sessions, the last day of school shifts to Tuesday, June 22, or Wednesday, June 23, 2027.

DCPS Calendar 2026-2027: Full Year of Key Dates

The table below lists every non-instructional day, break, and administrative date on the official DCPS calendar 2026-2027, drawn directly from the district’s published SY26-27 calendar (dcps.dc.gov/page/dcps-calendars).

DCPS School Breaks 2026-2027

DCPS schedules three major breaks during the 2026-2027 school year, in addition to single-day and half-day closures.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break runs from Wednesday, November 25, through Friday, November 27, 2026, a three-day closure that gives families a full week off when combined with the preceding weekend.

Winter Break

Winter break runs from Monday, December 21, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027, a full two weeks. Classes resume Monday, January 4, 2027.

This extended break reflects the community preference DCPS identified in its fall 2024 survey, where respondents confirmed support for a two-week winter recess stretching from late December into early January.

Spring Break

Spring break runs Monday, March 22, through Friday, March 26, 2027. Classes resume Monday, March 29, 2027.

DCPS aligned this window with the anticipated spring breaks of Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools, a change requested by families with children enrolled across DC and suburban Maryland districts.

Spring break also overlaps entirely with Good Friday, March 26, 2027, meaning the last day of the break coincides with a full-day religious observance.

Federal, District, and Religious Holidays on the DCPS Calendar 2026-2027

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 closes schools for eight federal and district holidays and marks 19 religious observances for scheduling purposes, without necessarily closing school on the observance dates themselves.

Federal and District Holidays

DC Emancipation Day commemorates the April 16, 1862, signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed more than 3,000 enslaved people in Washington, DC, and became a District public holiday in 2005 under DC Act 15-082.

Juneteenth’s actual date, June 19, 2027, falls on a Saturday; DCPS observes the holiday on the preceding school day, Friday, June 18, 2027.

Full-Day Religious Observances

DCPS asks schools to avoid scheduling special events, family programming, important meetings, or athletics on full-day religious observances, whether or not the observance falls on a weekend.

DCPS notes that Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and the start of Ramadan may shift by a day depending on anticipated lunar sightings.

Evening-Only Religious Observances

Evening-only observances begin at sunset. DCPS permits normal daytime activities on these dates but asks schools to avoid scheduling evening events, such as Back to School Night or homecoming, and after-school meetings.

Grading Periods, Records Days, and Conferences

DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 Marking Terms and Instructional Days

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 divides the school year into four marking terms totaling 180 instructional days, the minimum required under DC law.

DCPS distributes report cards after each term ends: early November, late January, mid-April, and June. Parents can check grades throughout each term through the ASPEN Parent Portal rather than waiting for the printed report.

Parent-Teacher Conference Dates

DCPS schedules two parent-teacher conference days on the 2026-2027 calendar, both mid-term rather than at term boundaries, per the scheduling preference the district identified in community feedback.

• Tuesday, October 13, 2026
• Thursday, February 11, 2027

Students do not attend school on either date.

Professional Development, Records, and Wellness Days

DCPS schedules several half-day and full-day non-instructional dates for staff throughout the year, distinct from conference days:

• Monday, November 2, 2026: half-day records, half-day wellness
• Wednesday, January 27, 2027: half-day records and PD
• Friday, February 12, 2027: staff professional development day
• Friday, May 14, 2027: full-day Wellness Day for students and teachers
• Monday, June 21, 2027: half-day records and PD

DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 vs. 2025-2026: What Changed

Comparing the DCPS calendar 2026-2027 against the prior school year shows three deliberate shifts: a longer winter break, later spring break timing tied to neighboring districts, and a slightly earlier last day of school.

How the DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 Compares to 2025-2026

Spring break moves roughly three weeks earlier on the DCPS calendar for 2026-2027, from mid-April in 2025-2026 to late March in 2026-2027.

This shift aligns DCPS with Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, both of which anchor spring break to the school-year structure their districts use rather than the April date range DCPS previously followed.

The last day of school moves two days earlier as well, from June 19 to June 17, keeping the year’s end ahead of the Juneteenth holiday as families requested in the 2024 survey.

Downloading and Syncing the DCPS Calendar 2026-2027

DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 PDF Download Links

DCPS publishes the official DCPS calendar 2026-2027 PDF in six languages through its School Calendars page: English, Spanish, Amharic, Chinese, French, and Vietnamese.

Each version contains the same dates shown in this guide, formatted as a printable one-page grid with the legend explained below. Families should download directly from dcps.dc.gov/page/dcps-calendars to confirm they have the current, corrected version, since the district updated the religious observances section in May 2026 after the initial release.

Reading the DCPS Calendar Legend

The official PDF uses abbreviated codes rather than spelled-out event names. The table below translates each code.

Adding the DCPS Calendar to Google Calendar or Outlook

DCPS maintains an electronic version of its calendar that families can subscribe to directly, rather than re-entering dates manually.

The electronic calendar syncs to Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar through a standard .ics feed, updated automatically when DCPS revises a date, which addresses the manual re-entry that a static PDF requires.

Families should access the current school year’s electronic calendar link from the DCPS Electronic Calendar page rather than reusing a prior year’s subscription URL, since each school year publishes under its own address.

What the DCPS Calendar 2026-2027 Does Not Cover

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 applies only to traditional DCPS schools. It does not apply to the following:

• DC’s 123 public charter schools. Each charter school, or charter network, sets its own independent academic calendar. Many charters align their first and last days loosely with DCPS but set their own professional development and conference dates.
• Private and parochial schools in DC. These institutions are not part of DCPS and publish separate calendars.
• Neighboring county school systems. Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools coordinate spring break timing with DCPS but maintain fully separate calendars for all other dates.
• Extended School Year (ESY) programming. Students receiving ESY services under an IEP follow a separate summer calendar issued by their school’s special education team.
• Individual school early-dismissal or athletics schedules. These vary by school and are not reflected on the districtwide calendar.

Weather Closures and Snow-Day Make-Up Days

The DCPS calendar 2026-2027 sets aside two contingency dates for weather-related closures: Tuesday, June 22, and Wednesday, June 23, 2027. DCPS uses these only if the district cancels school earlier in the year for snow or other emergencies; if no closures occur, the school year ends as scheduled on June 17.

DCPS posts closure and delayed-opening announcements before 6:00 a.m. on affected days through its Operating Status page and its official social media accounts, rather than through the printed calendar itself.

Frequently Asked Questions About the DCPS Calendar 2026-2027