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Bayshore work session previews 2025–26 school calendar; board debates use of discretionary days amid new heat-day rules
Summary
District staff presented a proposed 2025–26 academic calendar (184 student days) and board members debated whether to use discretionary recess days in May or hold them for potential June heat closures under new state guidance.
District administrators presented a proposed 2025–26 academic calendar during the board’s work session, describing a 184-day year for students running from Sept. 2, 2025, through June 26, 2026, and noting two superintendent conference days and two built-in snow days.
The calendar presented by district staff includes specific holiday and recess dates: Rosh Hashanah in September; Yom Kippur on Oct. 2; Columbus Day (Oct. 13); Election Day as a superintendent conference day on Nov. 4; parent conferences in November; winter recess from Dec. 24 through Jan. 2, 2026; midwinter recess around Presidents’ Day and Lunar New Year (Feb. 16–20); spring recess in April (April 2–10); Memorial Day observed May 25 with May 22–26 listed as possible discretionary recess days if snow days are unused; Juneteenth observed June 19; and high school graduation on June 26, 2026. The calendar shows 30 total days off for holidays and recesses.
Board members questioned whether the district should “burn” a discretionary day on May 26 to create an earlier long weekend, or preserve discretionary days for potential heat-day closings in June under recently discussed state guidance. School staff and board members described the new “heat day” dynamic as different from typical weather closings because classrooms could reach threshold temperatures midday even if mornings are acceptable, creating a challenge for making early dismissal or closure calls and for parents’ childcare arrangements.
District staff said the board retains administrative flexibility: conventionally the district would use snow days first, then superintendent conference days before discretionary days, and there are options such as remote instruction or moving students to other parts of a building when heat is localized. Staff also noted that Regents exam schedules constrain when discretionary days can be moved in June; Regents typically begin in mid-June, so any moved days would need to be used before exam start dates.
Why it matters: the calendar shapes families’ plans and instructional time. Board members sought to balance community expectations for long weekends with the operational need to preserve contingency days in case of temperature-related closures later in the school year.
What’s next: staff said they will revisit the placement of discretionary days in a future meeting and provide further guidance tied to state direction on heat days and remote/“emergency remote” options.
