The Fulton County school calendar 2026-2027 runs from Monday, August 3, 2026, the first day of school, through Thursday, May 27, 2027, the last day of school, covering 179 instructional days for students.
Fulton County Schools (FCS) approved this calendar on Thursday, February 19, 2026, and the district publishes it through its central office at 6201 Powers Ferry Road, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30339 (470-254-3600, fultonschools.org).
This guide breaks the calendar into semesters, compares it to the 2025-2026 school year, explains the difference between student and staff calendars, and lists the district’s 2026-2027 Board of Education meeting schedule.
FCS enrolled approximately 89,658 students across 104 schools during the 2023-2024 school year — 59 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 18 high schools, several charter organizations, and one full-time virtual school — under Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney, making it Georgia’s fourth-largest school district by enrollment.
The district is geographically split into North Fulton (Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek, Milton, Sandy Springs) and South Fulton (East Point, College Park, Union City, Fairburn, Hapeville) by the independent City of Atlanta Public Schools system.
Table of Contents
Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027 at a Glance
The Fulton County school calendar 2026-2027 begins Monday, August 3, 2026, and ends Thursday, May 27, 2027, with 179 instructional days: 88 in the first semester and 91 in the second semester.
The table below lists every major date on the approved 2026-2027 calendar in chronological order.
| Event | Date(s) |
|---|---|
| Pre-Planning / Professional Development | Monday, July 27 – Friday, July 31, 2026 |
| First Day of School | Monday, August 3, 2026 |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 7, 2026 |
| Fall Break | Monday, September 21 – Wednesday, September 23, 2026 |
| Teacher Workday (post-Fall Break) | Thursday, September 24 – Friday, September 25, 2026 |
| October Holiday | Monday, October 12, 2026 |
| Election Day (Remote Learning) | Tuesday, November 3, 2026 |
| Thanksgiving Break | Monday, November 23 – Friday, November 27, 2026 |
| Last Day of First Semester | Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| Winter Break | Monday, December 21, 2026 – Friday, January 1, 2027 |
| First Day of Second Semester | Tuesday, January 5, 2027 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday | Monday, January 18, 2027 |
| Fall/Winter Break (February) | Monday, February 15 – Wednesday, February 17, 2027 |
| Teacher Workday | Thursday, February 18 – Friday, February 19, 2027 |
| March Holiday | Monday, March 15, 2027 |
| Spring Break | Monday, April 5 – Friday, April 9, 2027 |
| Last Day of School | Thursday, May 27, 2027 |
| Memorial Day (offices closed) | Monday, May 31, 2027 |
| Juneteenth Holiday (offices closed) | Saturday, June 19, 2027 |
Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027: First Semester Dates
The first semester of the Fulton County school calendar 2026-2027 runs from Monday, August 3, 2026, through Friday, December 18, 2026, and contains 88 instructional days.
July and August 2026: Pre-Planning and the First Day of School
Fulton County teachers report for pre-planning and professional development from Monday, July 27, through Friday, July 31, 2026, before students begin classes.
Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, 2026, appears on the district’s employee calendar as a recognized holiday for staff working under 11- or 12-month contracts. The first day of school for students is Monday, August 3, 2026.
September and October 2026: Labor Day, Fall Break, and the October Holiday
Labor Day falls on Monday, September 7, 2026, closing schools districtwide. Fall Break follows two weeks later, running Monday, September 21, through Wednesday, September 23, 2026 — a three-day closure rather than the five-day break used in 2025-2026.
Teachers report for professional development on Thursday, September 24, and Friday, September 25, 2026, while students remain out of class.
The calendar also marks Monday, October 12, 2026, simply as a Holiday; the district’s released document does not attach a specific name to this date, though it falls on the same second-Monday-of-October slot that neighboring Atlanta-metro districts assign to the Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day observance.
November and December 2026: Election Day, Thanksgiving, and Winter Break
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, is designated a remote learning day tied to Georgia’s statewide elections rather than a full closure. Thanksgiving Break covers Monday, November 23, through Friday, November 27, 2026, a full five-day week that includes Thanksgiving Day itself on Thursday, November 26.
The first semester concludes on Friday, December 18, 2026, immediately followed by Winter Break, which runs from Monday, December 21, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027 — a 12-day closure spanning two calendar years.
Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027: Second Semester Dates
The second semester begins Tuesday, January 5, 2027, and ends Thursday, May 27, 2027, containing 91 instructional days — three more than the first semester.
January 2027: Winter Break Ends and Classes Resume
Teachers return for a workday on Monday, January 4, 2027, one day before students start the second semester on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday follows on Monday, January 18, 2027, marking the third Monday of the month per federal observance.
February and March 2027: A Second Fall Break and Professional Development
The approved 2026-2027 calendar schedules a second break from Monday, February 15, through Wednesday, February 17, 2027, which the district labels Fall Break rather than a standard remote workday.
This is a documented change from the prior year: the 2025-2026 calendar used this window only for a remote teacher workday (Monday, February 16, 2026) and a single professional development day (Tuesday, February 17, 2026), with no student closure extended into a three-day break.
Teachers report for additional workdays on Thursday, February 18, and Friday, February 19, 2027. The calendar lists Monday, March 15, 2027, as a Holiday without further designation in the official release.
April and May 2027: Spring Break and the Last Day of School
Fulton County School Spring Break 2027 runs the full week from Monday, April 5, through Friday, April 9, 2027. The last day of school for students is Thursday, May 27, 2027, followed by a teacher post-planning day on Friday, May 28, 2027.
Memorial Day (Monday, May 31, 2027), and Juneteenth (Saturday, June 19, 2027) close district offices over the summer.
Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027 Instructional Days Explained
The Fulton County school calendar 2026-2027 totals 179 instructional days: 88 in the first semester (August 3–December 18, 2026) and 91 in the second semester (January 5–May 27, 2027).
This figure counts only student attendance days. It excludes pre-planning, post-planning, teacher workdays, and professional development days, which appear on the staff calendar but do not require student attendance.
The 179-day total is two days above Georgia’s statutory minimum of 177 instructional days set by O.C.G.A. § 20-2-168.
How the Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027 Compares to 2025-2026
The 2026-2027 calendar shifts several milestones earlier and adds one full instructional day compared to 2025-2026, which ran 177 instructional days.
| Milestone | 2025–2026 School Year | 2026–2027 School Year |
|---|---|---|
| First Day of School | Monday, August 4, 2025 | Monday, August 3, 2026 |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 1, 2025 | Monday, September 7, 2026 |
| Fall Break | Monday, October 13 – Friday, October 17, 2025 | Monday, September 21 – Wednesday, September 23, 2026 |
| Thanksgiving Break | Monday, November 24 – Friday, November 28, 2025 | Monday, November 23 – Friday, November 27, 2026 |
| Last Day of First Semester | Friday, December 19, 2025 | Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| Winter Break | Monday, December 22, 2025 – Friday, January 2, 2026 | Monday, December 21, 2026 – Friday, January 1, 2027 |
| First Day of Second Semester | Tuesday, January 6, 2026 | Tuesday, January 5, 2027 |
| MLK Holiday | Monday, January 19, 2026 | Monday, January 18, 2027 |
| February Break | Two-day remote/PD closure (Feb 16–17, 2026), no student break | Three-day Fall Break (Feb 15–17, 2027) |
| Spring Break | Monday, April 6 – Friday, April 10, 2026 | Monday, April 5 – Friday, April 9, 2027 |
| Last Day of School | Thursday, May 21, 2026 | Thursday, May 27, 2027 |
| Total Instructional Days | 177 (88 + 89) | 179 (88 + 91) |
Fulton County Fall Break: 2025 vs. 2026
Fulton County’s fall break moved earlier and was shortened by two days between the two calendars. In 2025, Fall Break ran a full five-day week, Monday, October 13, through Friday, October 17, 2025.
In 2026, Fall Break compresses to three days, Monday, September 21, through Wednesday, September 23, 2026, positioned roughly three weeks earlier on the calendar. Families planning travel around this break should confirm dates against the current-year calendar each August, since board-approved calendars can be revised.
Fulton County Spring Break: 2026 vs. 2027
Two separate spring breaks apply depending on which school year is referenced. Spring Break 2026 — part of the 2025-2026 calendar — runs Monday, April 6, through Friday, April 10, 2026. Spring Break 2027 — part of the 2026-2027 calendar covered in this guide — runs Monday, April 5, through Friday, April 9, 2027, one day earlier on the calendar grid but structurally identical: a full five-day week in early April.
Teacher Planning Days, Professional Development, and the Staff Calendar
Fulton County Schools operates two overlapping calendars: an instructional calendar for students and a longer staff calendar for employees. Teacher workdays, pre-planning, post-planning, and professional development days appear only on the staff side and do not count toward the 179 instructional days.
Difference Between Instructional Days and Staff Days
Instructional days require student attendance; staff days do not. Examples of staff-only days on the 2026-2027 calendar include pre-planning (July 27–31, 2026), the September 24–25, 2026 workdays following Fall Break, the January 4, 2027 return workday, and the February 18–19, 2027 and May 28, 2027 workdays.
Staff days typically outnumber instructional days across a school year because they cover planning, grading, and professional development that occur outside direct classroom instruction.
180-Day Student Calendar vs. 220-Day Employee Calendar
Most FCS classroom teachers work under a 190- to 196-day contract, while 12-month administrative and support staff can work under contracts extending toward 220 days.
This distinction matters for payroll and leave planning: a 220-day employee’s pay schedule, holiday closures, and workday obligations differ from the 179-day student instructional calendar and the shorter teacher contract calendar.
Employees should confirm their specific contract-day count with FCS Human Resources rather than relying on the student calendar alone, since the student calendar does not list employee pay dates or contract-specific workdays.
Fulton County Board of Education Meeting Schedule 2026-2027
The Fulton County Board of Education holds a monthly Work Session and Board Meeting, open to the public except when designated as an Executive Session.
Work Sessions convene at the North Learning Center, 450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs, Georgia; Board Meetings convene at the South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road, Union City, Georgia 30291.
| Month | Work Session Date | Board Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | Thursday, July 16, 2026 (if needed) | — |
| August 2026 | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Thursday, August 20, 2026 |
| September 2026 | Thursday, September 10, 2026 | Thursday, September 17, 2026 |
| October 2026 | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| November 2026 | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 | Thursday, November 19, 2026 |
| December 2026 | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 | Thursday, December 17, 2026 |
| January 2027 | Tuesday, January 12, 2027 | Thursday, January 21, 2027 |
| February 2027 | Tuesday, February 9, 2027 | Thursday, February 25, 2027 |
| March 2027 | Tuesday, March 9, 2027 | Thursday, March 18, 2027 |
| April 2027 | Thursday, April 15, 2027 | Thursday, April 22, 2027 |
| May 2027 | Tuesday, May 4, 2027 | Tuesday, May 11, 2027 |
| June 2027 | Tuesday, June 8, 2027 | Thursday, June 17, 2027 |
The typical Work Session schedule begins with Executive Session at 12:30 p.m., followed by an agenda review at 4:30 p.m. and presentations at 2:00 p.m. on adjusted days; Board Meetings begin with Executive Session at 4:30 p.m., followed by recognitions and public comment at 6:00 p.m. and the meeting itself at 6:00 p.m. All times and dates are subject to adjustment by the Board.
Fulton County School Calendar 2026-2027 PDF and Printable Download
The Fulton County school calendar 2026-2027 PDF is the board-approved, single-page document distributed by the district and dated February 19, 2026. Use it as the authoritative source rather than a third-party reproduction, since aggregator sites can lag behind mid-year revisions.
Steps to Download the Fulton County School Calendar 26-27 PDF
- Navigate to fultonschools.org and locate the Calendar section under district resources.
- Select the 2026-2027 school year calendar link, which opens the approved PDF document.
- Confirm the approval date printed at the bottom of the PDF (February 19, 2026) matches the version referenced in this guide.
- Download the file directly rather than screenshotting it to preserve full resolution for printing.
- For a landscape print layout, set your printer or PDF viewer to landscape orientation and letter or legal paper size.
- Save a digital copy to a shared family or staff calendar app for date reminders ahead of each break.
Fulton County School Calendar 25-26 PDF and Prior-Year Archives
Families and staff searching for the FCS calendar 25-26 or older calendars need a different document than the one covered in this guide. The 2025-2026 School Calendar was approved on April 24, 2025, and covers August 4, 2025, through May 21, 2026.
Requests for the Fulton County schools calendar 23-24 or 24-25 typically relate to historical report card dates, past employee pay schedules, or prior enrollment verification rather than current planning; these archived calendars remain available through the district’s calendar archive rather than the current 2026-2027 page.
Fulton County School Calendar vs. DeKalb County School Calendar
Fulton County and DeKalb County operate separate, independently approved school calendars, and the two districts do not share start dates, break windows, or holiday designations.
DeKalb County Schools’ 2026-2027 calendar begins in early August 2026, closes for Labor Day on Monday, September 7, 2026 — the same date as Fulton — and schedules its lone fall break in mid-October (approximately October 12–16, 2026) rather than Fulton’s late-September window.
Families with children enrolled across both districts, or considering a move between them, should treat the two calendars as entirely independent documents rather than assume shared break dates.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Fulton County School Calendar
When is the first day of school for Fulton County Schools in 2026?
The first day of school is Monday, August 3, 2026, for the 2026-2027 school year.
When is Fulton County’s spring break in 2026?
Spring Break 2026 belongs to the 2025-2026 calendar and runs Monday, April 6, through Friday, April 10, 2026. The following year’s Spring Break 2027 runs Monday, April 5, through Friday, April 9, 2027.
How many instructional days are in the Fulton County school calendar for 2026-2027?
The calendar includes 179 instructional days: 88 in the first semester and 91 in the second semester.
Does Fulton County have two fall breaks in 2026-2027?
Yes. The approved calendar lists a three-day Fall Break in September (September 21–23, 2026) and a second three-day closure, which the district also labels Fall Break in February (February 15–17, 2027).
Is the Fulton County school calendar the same every year?
No. Start dates, break lengths, and instructional day totals change annually based on Board of Education approval; 2025-2026 used 177 instructional days and a five-day October fall break, while 2026-2027 uses 179 days and a shorter September fall break.
What This Calendar Guide Does Not Cover
This guide reflects the districtwide student and staff calendar approved on February 19, 2026, and does not cover individual school event calendars, athletics schedules, or extracurricular activity dates, which are set separately by each school.
It does not apply to City of Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb County Schools, or other neighboring metro-Atlanta districts, which approve independent calendars.
It does not reflect emergency closures for weather or other unforeseen circumstances, which the Board of Education may impose outside the published calendar and announce separately through district alerts.
It also does not list charter school calendars within FCS that may operate modified schedules, or detailed employee pay-date schedules, which are issued through Fulton County Schools Human Resources rather than the academic calendar.
