The Richardson ISD Board of Trustees reviewed three draft academic calendars for 2026–27 and 2027–28 at its Oct. 30 work session and directed staff to post all three drafts for community feedback before returning final calendars for approval in December or January.

Dr. Goodson, who led the calendar committee presentation, said the committee narrowed multiple options into three drafts for each year and emphasized that "there is no perfect calendar"; the committees top preference was the version labeled Calendar A, with adjustments suggested for Calendar B and Calendar C retained for broader comment. Staff said the committee included teachers, campus administrators, parents and central office representatives and that the district cross‑checked a number of constraints — statutory minute requirements, testing windows, transportation routing and local post‑secondary schedules — when drafting dates.

District staff reviewed several constraints that shape calendar choices: state and local minute requirements (staff said the district must meet 75,600 minutes of student instruction for the year and that one student day equals 420 minutes), a planning allocation of 13 professional development/exchange days, a two‑day bank for bad weather and a requirement that the last day of school not fall before May 15. Staff also noted common daily schedules used to accommodate triple‑route bus runs (staff reported a typical high‑school day at 440 minutes and junior‑high/elementary days around 445 minutes, which constrains start and end times).

Staff explained why the district frequently schedules the Monday–Tuesday around November elections as staff development days: many campuses serve as polling places and using those days as staff days reduces student presence in buildings where voters must pass through parts of the campus. The board discussed the tradeoffs of clustering a fall break versus spreading short breaks across the first semester; staff said the current drafts aim to provide regular "breathers" across months rather than one long mid‑fall break so families and teachers can plan consistently.

The calendar committee confirmed that the district has matched Dallas Colleges spring break for 2026–27; staff said the 2027–28 spring break alignment remains under review and could cause minor date adjustments once Dallas College posts its schedule.

Next steps: staff will release all three calendar drafts for each school year through the districts Let's Talk channels, collect community and district planning committee feedback and return revised/final calendars to the board for adoption in either December 2025 or January 2026. Staff asked families, staff and students to use the posted feedback channels to comment on preferred options and specific date placements.

Board member Miss McGowan asked whether the November days off were tied to an "election year," and staff confirmed that local elections and the use of campus polling locations drive the decision to hold staff development days around the election. Superintendent Branham and Dr. Goodson said they will incorporate community and PTA feedback into schedule refinements before returning calendars for adoption.

Less urgent details: staff noted federal holidays, UIL/fine‑arts scheduling, STAR/TELPAS/AP testing windows and the districts preference to begin the year with a shorter initial week for younger students in order to build classroom routines and stamina.