Important Update to the 2025–2026 School Calendar

On Thursday, Feb. 19, during its regular business meeting, the Montgomery County Board of Education adopted technical changes to the 2025–2026 school-year calendar following multiple weather-related closures in late January and early February. These changes include updates that families need to know.

Snow Day Requirements

Maryland requires all public school systems to provide 180 instructional days each year. Under the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), school system calendars must identify possible make-up days both within the school year and to extend the school year. And if a school system needs to request a waiver from the 180-day requirement at some point (such as following an extreme weather event like our recent storm), then it must modify the calendar within the school year and extend the school year by three days before it will be eligible for the waiver. 

The hardest part about meeting these requirements is the delicate balance between instructional time and student and staff safety when there is inclement weather. We know that this is inconvenient and this can be very frustrating (we’re frustrated too); however, we are always going to choose safety. 

Why March 20, 2026? ..wait, wasn’t that a no school for students day?

To comply with state law, MCPS originally announced that Friday, March 20, 2026 (Eid al-Fitr) would serve as a snow make-up day and extended the school year by one day, with the option to extend it more to meet the state requirement. These steps were taken to meet state requirements to request a waiver for relief from extending the school year further. 

MCPS requested the waiver from the state on February 9th and was denied on February 10th.Since our waiver request was denied and due to the weather closures, MCPS is required to make up four instructional days to meet this state requirement. 

Today, the Board accepted the Superintendent’s recommendation for two actions: 1) to restore March 20th as a non-instructional day for professional learning; and 2) to add four instructional days to extend the school year.

What This Means for Families

• Friday, March 20, 2026 (Eid al-Fitr) will remain a non-instructional day for students. This is a change from the previous announcement that MCPS would make March 20 an instructional day. 
• The last day of school for students will now be Thursday, June 25, 2026.

The following days will be added as instructional days:

• Thursday, June 18, 2026 (full day)
• Monday, June 22, 2026 (full day)
• Wednesday, June 24, 2026 (early release)
• Thursday, June 25, 2026 (early release)

Friday, June 19 (Juneteenth) remains a systemwide closure for the federal and state holiday (schools and offices are closed), and Tuesday, June 23 will be a non-instructional day to allow for county elections (schools are used as polling locations and will need to be closed). For Arcola Elementary (Innovative Calendar School), the last day of school will be June 17.

Why can’t we find other days?

When MCPS closes school for a planned holiday or non-instructional day, it is due to a limited number of reasons:

• Federal or state-mandated holidays (requires state approval to use as snow make-up days);
• Contractual staff days that cannot be converted to instructional time;
• Days to extend Winter and Spring Break beyond state requirements; or
• Days that align with religious and cultural observances that would cause operational or instructional barriers to operating schools (such as significant absences).

All of our non-instructional days are important to members of our school community for a range of valid reasons. MCPS is committed to honoring the diversity and traditions of the families we serve, the staff members in our schools and offices, and the agreements with our employees. 

Is there a possibility the school year could end earlier than June 25?
As we said above, the waiver MCPS requested from the Maryland State Department of Education following the recent weather closures was denied, leaving us with limited options.

As a result, extending the school year is the only option (at this time) that ensures MCPS meets state instructional requirements. However, our Montgomery County state legislative delegation in the State General Assembly is working on a bill that would provide relief by allowing school systems to meet a minimum number of instructional hours instead of having to make up all the days. Good news! MCPS already exceeds the minimum hours requirement each year and this year is no exception. We currently meet the required learning hours as set forth by the state department of education. Special thanks to our state legislative partners from Montgomery County for supporting our schools and our families. If the bill passes successfully, we will re-adjust the end of the school year. 

This is important because we not only already met the requirement for instructional time but also because the state and other 3rd party national assessment windows (College Board AP exams, IB exams) are not changing. No matter what, our students will be assessed as previously scheduled, well before June 25. The state bill is also important not just for instructional reasons, as it costs the taxpayers $2.1 million each day that we operate for a make-up snow day and limits the time that we are able to do critical summer maintenance projects.

We understand these changes may affect family schedules, childcare arrangements, and summer plans. While extending the school year right now can present challenges, MCPS must meet the state’s mandated instructional time requirements. We wish this year’s calendar saga was less complicated and less uncertain - unfortunately, it is not. Stand by for more soon…

P.S. - Yes, we’re looking at this weekend’s weather.