Issaquah School Board adopts revised calendars, approves one‑year waiver to preserve flexibility

The Issaquah School District Board on Sept. 11 approved a set of revised school‑year calendars and a one‑year waiver request to the state that the superintendent said will preserve the district’s ability to recover lost instructional time without extending the school year.

The board approved the 2025–26 calendar and subsequent draft calendars after a sustained discussion about how many embedded weather makeup days to include, whether to retain the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a student holiday, and how start and end dates affect testing windows. Assistant Superintendent Donna Hood, who led calendar development, said each draft "contains 179 days" for students (180 staff days counting a PD waiver day) and explained why the team embedded makeup days and prioritized preserving two full weeks for the winter break.

Director Gallinger urged a consistent approach to makeup days, saying: "If we're gonna move to having 3 days that we identify in our calendar as extra days or makeup days, then let's stay at 3." Director Taylor pushed for an earlier end to the school year where practical, arguing that days just before state testing are the most valuable: "The value of days before testing in May is more." Several board members raised concerns about how calendar color‑coding and published makeup days affect family planning and staff expectations.

After adopting the 2025–26 calendar, the board separately approved the 2026–27 and 2027–28 drafts and selected option B for the 2028–29 calendar, which the board said best matched community preferences for winter break length and holiday timing. Votes were taken by voice; the record shows a mix of aye and nay responses during some calendar motions and board members indicated they would continue to refine calendar conventions going forward.

To align its calendar decisions with state waiver rules, the board amended an earlier proposal and adopted Resolution No. 1246, moving to request a one‑year waiver from the state’s minimum 180‑day requirement for the 2025–26 school year. Director Taylor moved the amended resolution; the motion passed. The superintendent explained the one‑year waiver will allow the district to submit an application reflecting the approved 2025–26 calendar and to revisit multi‑year waiver requests once subsequent calendars are finalized.

The board also approved a revised BEA (Basic Education) compliance report to reflect the adopted calendar and waiver request, and the superintendent outlined next steps for submission to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Votes at a glance: - Consent agenda approved (voice vote) — motion carried. - 2025–26 calendar approved (motion by Director Taylor) — approved by voice vote (some dissent recorded). - 2026–27 calendar approved (motion by Director Taylor) — approved by voice vote (some dissent recorded). - 2027–28 calendar approved (motion by Director Taylor) — approved by voice vote. - 2028–29 calendar: option B approved (motion by Director Taylor) — approved by voice vote. - Resolution No. 1246 (one‑year waiver for 2025–26) adopted (motion by Director Taylor) — approved by voice vote. - Revised BEA compliance report approved (voice vote).

The board directed staff to continue refining calendar presentations and community communications so families and staff can plan around embedded makeup days and waiver contingencies. The district staff said it will submit the waiver application to the state and follow up with additional calendar work before pursuing any multi‑year waiver.