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Castleberry ISD to shift calendar to 175 instructional days under HB2; superintendent outlines revised start, conferences and summer programming
Summary
As House Bill 2 reduces the instructional-day requirement to 175 for certain funding, Castleberry ISD staff said the change lets the district restore teacher professional-learning days and expand summer and Saturday funding to more grades; the superintendent said she will implement calendar adjustments under local policy after board discussion.
The Castleberry Independent School District will move toward a 175-instructional-day calendar for 2025'26, the superintendent told the board, saying the change (allowed under recently signed state legislation) expands eligibility for summer and Saturday attendance funding and restores professional learning time for teachers.
"One thing I spoke with the commissioner is when asked how can we improve this... it was very exciting to see that in House Bill 2 that was signed, there were 3 great things that happened. Number 1, it is now 175 instructional days," the superintendent said, describing conversations with state officials and the flexibility the change provides.
District leaders told the board the 175-day rule makes more students eligible for accelerated summer and Saturday-program funding beyond elementary grades; the superintendent said the commissioner can expand funding from a half-day ADA (average daily attendance) measure to three-fourths ADA for participating students, and that the change includes 6th through 8th graders.
The superintendent outlined calendar shifts she intends to implement under existing local-policy authority to vary the board-adopted calendar. Planned adjustments described to the board include shorter teacher workday distributions and new family-facing events:
- Adding professional learning days at the start of the year so teachers have full-day preparation in their classrooms before school begins, with a meet-the-teacher half day scheduled in August.
- A new October student-led conferences/"college day" for families that will include four-year-planning information, scholarship sign-ups and test-prep resources, available to all grade levels.
- An early-release day in February for additional student-led conferences tied to progress monitoring and planning for Saturday and summer acceleration programs.
- The last day of school projected for May 21, graduation scheduled May 21 and summer programming beginning May 27, reducing the number of required Saturdays and shifting more instruction into summer days to avoid conflicts with seasonal activities.
The superintendent said the district has already reviewed potential impacts on special education and will make necessary instructional adjustments. "We've also looked at special ed. I've asked what impact this might have... and so during our ALT meeting, we brainstormed how this is gonna impact us," she said.
Board action and next steps: The item was presented as "Item 4b" for discussion; the superintendent said she will enact calendar variations permitted under local policy and will notify parents and staff. The board has scheduled its next regular meeting for July 14, where staff expect to present July-certified values and any related calendar logistics.
Why it matters: Lowering the instructional-day threshold for supplemental ADA funding affects how the district schedules professional learning and targets accelerated instruction; for families it changes start dates and timing for conferences, graduation and summer programs.
What remains uncertain: The superintendent and CFO emphasized that the calendar changes are being aligned with the new state law but that details such as funding levels and implementation timelines will be finalized after TEA guidance and internal planning.
