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El Paso ISD board approves shorter 2026–27 school year, keeps teacher contract days intact
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Summary
The El Paso ISD board approved revisions to the 2026–27 academic calendar that reduce student days from 180 to 175 while maintaining a 187‑day teacher contract for professional learning; trustees approved the change 7–0 after staff described alignment and parent‑conference adjustments.
The El Paso Independent School District board on March 24 approved revisions to the 2026–27 academic calendar that reduce the number of student days from 180 to 175 while retaining a 187‑day teacher contract to preserve professional learning time.
Christine Ferrett, the district’s Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Design, told trustees the change preserves required state minutes and came after committee review and a three‑week community vote in which “70% of the respondents preferred this updated calendar” over the previously approved version. Ferrett said the proposal also reduces early‑release days from seven to two (reserved for parent conferences) and adjusts the fall intercession to better align with neighboring districts such as Socorro and Ysleta.
“The biggest change is from the 180 days to 175,” Ferrett said. She described other adjustments that front‑load professional learning at the start of the year so teachers have more concentrated PD time.
Trustees voiced support and asked about community and faculty sentiment for scheduling conferences in July; Ferrett said the committee heard no strong consensus and that campuses can localize plans. Trustee Kahl praised the change, saying in part that “I don’t think there was a whole lot of learning that happened on those half days,” supporting the move to fuller professional learning days.
Trustee Kahl moved that the board approve the proposed revisions; Trustee Beals seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously, and the chair announced the motion carried 7–0.
The approval takes effect for the 2026–27 school year. The district said it will continue to communicate with families and campuses about the revised schedule and will provide further details on campus‑level conference scheduling and professional development timing.
