Huntsville ISD staff presented a draft 2026–27 instructional calendar at the November board meeting and invited trustee feedback before a formal vote expected in February.

Mister Forney, presenting the calendar, said the district will adopt a single calendar for the coming year and add two professional development days between July and August to support training for the new Bluebonnet instructional materials. He reiterated state nonnegotiables that affect calendar design, including a minimum of 187 teacher work days and 75,600 instructional minutes. Forney said the district designated two face-to-face parent meeting days (meet-the-teacher and open house) to satisfy SB12 requirements and proposed starting school on a Thursday next year rather than a Wednesday to better space the week.

Forney said the draft calendar maintains traditional holidays and testing windows, aligns spring break with Lone Star College and Sam Houston State University for dual-credit coordination, and keeps the second-semester end date prior to high school graduation. He described exchange days and professional learning day designations and said the draft is largely similar to the current calendar with the exceptions noted.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about the SB12 parent meeting requirement and the number/designation of parent meeting days; Forney confirmed the district is using meet-the-teacher and open-house events to meet the two-day face-to-face requirement. The board was reminded that this is a draft and will be returned for formal approval in February.

No formal vote was taken on the calendar at the meeting; the presentation was recorded as an information item with a later action scheduled.