Ysleta ISD approves 2026–27 instructional calendar; proposal to add Super Bowl Monday fails
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Summary
After public comment and extended debate, trustees approved the district’s 2026–27 instructional calendar presented by staff; an amendment to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a non‑instructional day failed 2–3, while the district retained the Monday after Easter as a holiday.
The Ysleta ISD Board of Trustees voted Jan. 14 to adopt the district’s 2026–27 instructional calendar as presented by staff, after extended public comment and trustee debate.
Trustee Chris Hernandez proposed an amendment to designate the Monday after the Super Bowl (President’s Day holiday week for 2026) as a non‑instructional day, citing attendance data and substitute costs that he said make the day routinely low in attendance and expensive for the district. He argued that shifting a teacher work day from Thursday to Wednesday and a modest daily minute adjustment at elementary schools would preserve contractual duty days while saving the district money and reducing disruption to instruction on high‑absence days.
The amendment failed on the board floor with a 2‑in‑favor / 3‑opposed tally (recorded on the audiovisual transcript). Trustees who opposed the amendment voiced concerns about childcare burdens for families whose employers do not close or grant leave for that day and about changing the calendar for a single day when larger scheduling patterns already provide planned breaks.
After discussion, the board approved the calendar as presented by administration. The adopted calendar keeps the Monday after Easter as a non‑instructional day (as recommended in the calendar packet) and preserved the district’s two‑week breaks while meeting statutory minutes and 187‑day contract requirements for staff through modest daily minute adjustments at the elementary level.
District staff said the calendar preserved professional development windows and voluntary remediation weeks for students while complying with ADSY/ADSY‑type funding rules. Administrative staff also noted that changing the calendar carries tradeoffs (substitute costs, contractual day counts and instructional minute requirements), and they identified the technical adjustments (elementary daily minutes increased by five minutes across the year) that make the year comply with state minute requirements.
No additional policy changes were adopted with the calendar vote. Trustees directed staff to monitor attendance and substitute costs on strategic dates and to report back if further calendar modifications are recommended.
