The Dallas ISD calendar for the 2026-2027 school year is published in two official versions: the Traditional Calendar and the ADSY (Additional Days School Year) Calendar.
Dallas ISD’s Traditional Calendar runs from Tuesday, August 11, 2026, to Wednesday, May 26, 2027. The ADSY Calendar starts earlier, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, ending the same day: Wednesday, May 26, 2027.
Both cover the Dallas Independent School District’s full academic year, list identical major holidays, and share the same last day of class, but they differ in start date, teacher workday scheduling, and total instructional days.
This guide breaks down every published date from the official district calendar documents, including grading periods, staff development days, early release schedules, and the specific differences between the two calendar tracks.
Table of Contents
Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027: Traditional vs. ADSY Schedule Overview
Dallas ISD operates two distinct academic calendars for the 2026-2027 school year, and campus assignment determines which one applies to a student.
The Traditional Calendar applies to most Dallas ISD campuses and follows a standard August-to-May instructional year.
The ADSY Calendar — short for “Early Start, Additional Days School Year” — applies to designated campuses that begin instruction earlier in the summer and add extra instructional sessions throughout the fall and winter.
Both calendars share identical staff/student holidays, fall break, spring break, early release days, and inclement weather make-up dates. They diverge primarily in start date, professional development scheduling, and total instructional day count.
| Attribute | Traditional Calendar | ADSY Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| First Day of Class | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Tuesday, July 28, 2026 |
| Last Day of Class | Wednesday, May 26, 2027 | Wednesday, May 26, 2027 |
| Professional Development Days | August 3–6, 2026; October 12, 2026; November 3, 2026; January 5, 2027 | July 20–23, 2026; October 12, 2026; November 3, 2026; January 5, 2027 |
| Teacher Workdays | August 3, 7, and 10, 2026; May 27, 2027 | July 24 and 27, 2026; May 27, 2027 |
| Additional Instructional Days | None beyond the standard calendar | July 28–August 10, 2026, plus five added Saturdays: September 12, October 17, and December 14, 2026, and January 9 and February 6, 2027 |
| Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break | Identical dates | Identical dates |
| Early Release Days | Identical dates | Identical dates |
| Inclement Weather Make-Up Days | March 29 and April 19, 2027 | March 29 and April 19, 2027 |
Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027 Nine-Week Grading Periods
The Traditional calendar divides the school year into four nine-week grading periods, marked on the official calendar with beginning and end brackets.
These periods are:
| Grading Period | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| First Nine Weeks | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Friday, October 9, 2026 |
| Second Nine Weeks | Monday, October 12, 2026 | Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| Third Nine Weeks | Wednesday, January 6, 2027 | Friday, March 5, 2027 |
| Fourth Nine Weeks | Monday, March 8, 2027 | Wednesday, May 26, 2027 |
Each grading period ends immediately before a scheduled break — Fall Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break — and resumes on the first instructional day after that break. The fourth nine weeks concludes on the last day of class.
ADSY campuses follow the same four-period structure for the core academic year, with the additional July 28–August 10, 2026, instructional block and the five bonus Saturdays layered on top rather than replacing any of the four standard periods.
Key Dates at a Glance for the Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027
The most-searched dates on the Dallas ISD calendar are the start and end dates, followed by the major breaks.
Class begins Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (Traditional) or Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (ADSY), and ends Wednesday, May 26, 2027, for both tracks.
Between those two dates, the district schedules five major break periods and several single-day holidays.
Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027 Major Break Dates and Durations
| Holiday/Break | Start Date | End Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Day Observance | Saturday, July 4, 2026 | — | 1 day (weekend; no instructional impact) |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 7, 2026 | — | 1 day |
| Fall Break | Thursday, October 8, 2026 | Friday, October 9, 2026 | 2 days |
| Thanksgiving Break | Monday, November 23, 2026 | Friday, November 27, 2026 | 5 days |
| Winter Break | Monday, December 21, 2026 | Monday, January 4, 2027 | 11 instructional weekdays |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Monday, January 18, 2027 | — | 1 day |
| Presidents Day | Monday, February 15, 2027 | — | 1 day |
| Spring Break | Monday, March 15, 2027 | Friday, March 19, 2027 | 5 days |
| Additional Staff/Student Holiday | Friday, March 26, 2027 | — | 1 day |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 31, 2027 | — | 1 day (falls after the last day of class) |
| Juneteenth | Saturday, June 19, 2027 | — | Falls on a weekend during summer break |
Winter Break spans 15 calendar days but only 11 instructional weekdays, since it includes two full weekends. Note that the calendar does not label a distinct “Fair Day” holiday for 2026-2027; the two-day Fall Break on October 8–9, 2026, is the only autumn break listed in this cycle.
Professional Development, Teacher Workdays, and Early Release Days
Dallas ISD schedules seven professional development days and four dedicated teacher workdays on the Traditional calendar, separate from the days students attend class.
Professional development days fall on August 3, 4, 5, and 6, 2026; October 12, 2026; November 3, 2026; and January 5, 2027. Teacher workdays — days staff report without students present — fall on August 3, 7, and 10, 2026, and May 27, 2027.
On the ADSY calendar, professional development shifts earlier to July 20–23, 2026, while teacher workdays fall on July 24 and 27, 2026, with the same May 27, 2027, date applying at year-end.
Parent-teacher conferences occur twice during the year, split by campus level. In the fall, conferences run on Monday, October 19, 2026, for high schools; on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, for middle schools; and on Thursday, October 22, 2026, for elementary schools.
In spring, conferences run on Monday, January 25, 2027, for high schools; Tuesday, January 26, 2027, for middle schools; and Thursday, January 28, 2027, for elementary schools.
Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027 Early Release Day Schedule
Early release days apply differently depending on campus level. Secondary campuses — middle and high schools — release early on Wednesday, December 16, and Thursday, December 17, 2026, and again on Monday, May 24, and Tuesday, May 25, 2027.
All schools, including elementary campuses, release early on Friday, December 18, 2026, and Wednesday, May 26, 2027 — the same date as the last day of class.
Two inclement weather make-up days are built into the calendar: Monday, March 29, 2027, and Monday, April 19, 2027.
These dates typically remain instruction-free unless Dallas ISD cancels classes earlier in the year for severe weather, in which case the district may activate one or both dates to recover lost instructional time.
Confirmation of whether a make-up day is activated is announced separately by the district, not on the printed calendar itself.
ADSY Calendar 2026-2027: Additional Days School Year Explained
ADSY stands for “Early Start, Additional Days School Year,” a calendar model applied at select Dallas ISD campuses that begins instruction in late July and adds extra instructional sessions across the fall and winter months rather than lengthening the spring semester.
The ADSY calendar is not a separate school year — it covers the same August 2026–May 2027 academic year as the Traditional calendar but redistributes and extends instructional time.
The additional instructional time on the ADSY calendar comes from two sources: an early-start block and a series of added Saturdays.
- Early-start block: July 28–August 10, 2026, covering 10 weekday sessions before Traditional-calendar campuses begin classes on August 11, 2026.
- Added Saturday sessions: Saturday, September 12, 2026; Saturday, October 17, 2026; Monday, December 14, 2026; Saturday, January 9, 2027; and Saturday, February 6, 2027.
ADSY campuses share every major break with the Traditional calendar — Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break occur on identical dates for both tracks.
The distinction lies entirely in when instructional time is added, not in when standard breaks occur. This calendar structure does not apply district-wide; it applies only to campuses officially designated as ADSY schools by Dallas ISD.
Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027 Observances and Cultural Awareness Dates
Beyond instructional holidays, the official Dallas ISD calendar documents dozens of cultural, religious, and awareness observances throughout the year.
These dates are informational notations on the calendar and do not result in school closures unless they coincide with a listed holiday.
Notable observances include Rosh Hashanah, beginning at sunset Friday, September 11, 2026; Yom Kippur, beginning at sunset Sunday, September 20, 2026; Diwali on Sunday, November 8, 2026; the first day of Ramadan on Monday, February 8, 2027; Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday, March 9, 2027; Easter on Sunday, March 28, 2027; Passover, beginning at sunset Wednesday, April 21, 2027; and Eid al-Adha on Monday, May 17, 2027.
The calendar also marks numerous school-specific recognition periods, such as National Principals Month in October 2026, Teacher Appreciation Week from Monday, May 3, through Friday, May 7, 2027, and School Bus Driver Appreciation Day on Tuesday, April 27, 2027.
These are staff and community recognition dates, not instructional closures.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Dallas ISD Calendar 2026-2027
When is Spring Break for Dallas ISD in 2027?
Spring Break runs Monday, March 15, 2027, through Friday, March 19, 2027, for both the Traditional and ADSY calendars. Classes resume Monday, March 22, 2027.
What is the difference between the Dallas ISD Traditional and ADSY calendars?
The Traditional calendar starts Tuesday, August 11, 2026; the ADSY calendar starts Tuesday, July 28, 2026, and adds five extra Saturday instructional days later in the year. Both calendars end on Wednesday, May 26, 2027, and share identical break dates.
How many teacher workdays are built into the Dallas ISD 2026-2027 calendar?
The Traditional calendar lists four dedicated teacher workdays — August 3, 7, and 10, 2026, and May 27, 2027 — in addition to seven professional development days spread across August, October, November, and January.
Is there school on Fair Day for the 2026-2027 year?
The published 2026-2027 calendar does not list a separate “Fair Day” holiday. The only autumn break is the two-day Fall Break on Thursday, October 8, and Friday, October 9, 2026.
What This Guide Does Not Cover
This calendar breakdown reflects only the dates published on Dallas ISD’s official 2026-2027 Traditional and ADSY calendar documents. It does not cover individual campus bell schedules or daily start and end times, which vary by school level and are set separately by each campus.
It does not include STAAR or other state assessment testing windows, since those dates are set by the Texas Education Agency and published independently of the instructional calendar.
It also does not address extracurricular, athletics, or after-school program schedules, enrollment or registration deadlines, or any calendar amendments the district may approve after publication in response to emergency closures.
For those items, families should consult Dallas ISD’s official district calendars page directly or contact their individual campus.
