At its regular meeting last night, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees approved the district's 2017–18 instructional calendar. 

The calendar includes a TEA waiver to start and end the 2017–18 school year a week earlier.

Three versions of the calendar, each along with a waiver version, were submitted by the Calendar Task Force and shared for review, input and online voting.

Staff, students and familis reviewed and gave feedback on three calendar options from Nov. 7–Dec. 9, 2016, on the district's website. Calendar A received the popular vote, with equal support for Calendar A-Waiver.

All calendar options included the following similarities:

• 177 student instruction days

• Two elementary school parent conference days

• Two bad weather makeup days for staff

• 23 staff holidays.

• Spring Break will be March 12–16, 2018. 

Calendar A-Waiver includes a five-day Thanksgiving holiday; nine-day winter break; and Presidents Day and Good Friday as the bad weather makeup days.

• Thanksgiving holiday is Monday, Nov. 20–Friday Nov. 24.

• Winter Break is Wednesday, Dec. 20–Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, for students (10 days); and Wednesday, Dec. 20–Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, for staff (nine days).

Other key dates include Aug. 7–10 for new teacher orientation; Aug. 14 as the first teacher workday; Aug. 21 as the first class day for students; May 30, 2018, as the last class day for students; and May 31, 2018, as the last teacher workday. 

The Calendar Task Force convenes annually to begin the work of developing and recommending calendar drafts for the school year.

The task force is composed of teachers, parents, principals, members of the Association of Texas Professional Educators, representatives from Education Austin, and PTA and central support staff.