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Board hears early options for 2026–27 school calendar, weighs cultural observances and start‑date pressures

Albany City School District Board of Education · December 5, 2025
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Summary

Staff laid out the calendar committee’s charge to draft the 2026–27 school calendar, noting SED and contract constraints (187 days) and proposing effort to accommodate cultural and religious observances while coordinating with BOCES and testing windows. Board members urged student representation on the committee and earlier notice of the first day of school.

District staff presented parameters for the 2026–27 school calendar at the Dec. 4 meeting, telling the board the calendar committee will convene in early January and aim to present a draft at the board’s first February meeting.

The calendar co‑chair said the committee’s charge is to design a calendar that meets state and contractual requirements, aligns with Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) draft dates and the New York State testing calendar, and balances family, staffing and instructional priorities. The presentation repeated a repeated constraint: the district must meet required days/hours in session; staff cited ‘‘187’’ as the number of days used in planning.

Discussion focused on whether the district can better accommodate major religious and cultural observances without running afoul of state regulations and labor agreements. The presenter noted that next year Labor Day falls late (Sept. 7), which affects possible opening dates, and that some observances fall on weekends; the district will consider professional‑development scheduling as one option to acknowledge some observances where a full day off is not possible.

Several board members recommended adding a student representative to the calendar committee or polling students for input and urged earlier public notice of the first day of school to help families plan for childcare and camps. Members also asked staff to include a publicly shared list of common religious and cultural observances and to consider a footnote clarifying excused‑absence practices for religious observance.

Staff said they would examine the BOCES draft calendar and present a draft recommendation in February, and that work will continue in January as the committee meets.