Winter Break 2026: 39 School Districts, Most Off Dec. 21-Jan. 1

Most of the largest U.S. school districts close for winter break from Monday, Dec. 21, 2026 through Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, according to the 2026-27 calendars the districts publish. The bigger difference is the return date: many districts add a staff day on Monday, Jan. 4, so students do not go back until Tuesday, Jan. 5, and Los Angeles Unified stays off another week.

We read each calendar on the district’s own website or in its official PDF. Here are 39 districts: 24 of the largest, and 15 more that each have their own story on our site, linked from the table.

Winter break 2026, district by district

District	Winter break (students)	Students return
New York City Public Schools	Dec. 24-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Los Angeles Unified	Dec. 21-Jan. 8	Mon., Jan. 11
Miami-Dade County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Dec. 18)	Mon., Jan. 4
Chicago Public Schools	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Clark County, Nev.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Broward County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Not listed
Houston Independent School District (ISD)	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Hillsborough County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Orange County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Palm Beach County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Fairfax County, Va.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Gwinnett County, Ga.	Dec. 21-Jan. 4	Tue., Jan. 5
Dallas ISD	Dec. 21-Jan. 4 (plus Jan. 5)	Wed., Jan. 6
Wake County, N.C. (traditional)	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Montgomery County, Md.	Dec. 24-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
San Diego Unified	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Duval County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4-5)	Wed., Jan. 6
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Northside ISD, San Antonio	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Denver Public Schools	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Philadelphia, Pa.	Dec. 23-Jan. 1	Not listed
Cobb County, Ga.	Dec. 21-Jan. 4	Not listed
Austin ISD, Texas	Dec. 21-Jan. 4	Not listed
DeKalb County, Ga.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Fulton County, Ga.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Prince George’s County, Md.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Baltimore County, Md.	Dec. 24-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Jefferson County, Ky. (JCPS)	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Seattle Public Schools	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Katy ISD, Texas	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Fort Worth ISD, Texas	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
DC Public Schools	Dec. 21-Jan. 1	Mon., Jan. 4
Metro Nashville, Tenn.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Anne Arundel County, Md.	Dec. 24-Jan. 1	Not listed
Hawaii public schools	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5
Memphis-Shelby County, Tenn.	Dec. 21-Jan. 4	Tue., Jan. 5
Polk County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4-5)	Wed., Jan. 6
Lee County, Fla.	Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (plus Jan. 4)	Tue., Jan. 5

Independent school districts are the usual form of school district in Texas. “Plus” days are teacher planning, professional development or staff days with no students, listed separately on the district calendar. The last 15 rows come from our own district stories, each built from that district’s calendar; Prince George’s, Baltimore County, Jefferson County, Seattle and DC Public Schools return days are read from the calendar’s closure marks, and Anne Arundel County’s calendar prints no return day.

Three patterns

The two-week break. Thirty-four of the 39 districts give students at least the full two weeks of Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. Dec. 24 is a Thursday this year, so Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall at the end of the first week.

The late start. New York City, Montgomery County, Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County, Md., keep students in school until Wednesday, Dec. 23 and close from Thursday, Dec. 24. Montgomery County’s Dec. 23 is an early-release day. Philadelphia closes from Wednesday, Dec. 23; its calendar lists the recess through Dec. 31 and New Year’s Day as a separate closure.

The long tail. Los Angeles Unified’s winter recess runs through Friday, Jan. 8, and the second semester starts Monday, Jan. 11. The district notes that a school choosing Jan. 11 as a pupil-free day would bring students back Jan. 12 instead. In Dallas, Jan. 4 is still part of winter break and Jan. 5 is a professional development day, so classes resume Wednesday, Jan. 6. Duval County also returns Jan. 6 after two staff days, and so does Polk County, Fla., where Jan. 4-5 are no school for students.

Notes on specific districts

• Gwinnett County: The student calendar lists winter break as Dec. 21 through Jan. 4. A separate staff calendar shows different dates for employees.
• Baltimore County, Md.: Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) says winter break begins at the end of the school day on Wednesday, Dec. 23, and schools reopen Monday, Jan. 4, so students are off Dec. 24-Jan. 1 by our reading. See our BCPS calendar story.
• Wake County: The dates are for the traditional calendar. Year-round and modified-calendar schools have different breaks.
• Cobb County and Austin ISD: Both list the break through Monday, Jan. 4, without a separate return day. Austin marks Jan. 4 as a staff development day and student holiday. Cobb’s Important Dates page prints Jan. 4 as a “Friday,” but Jan. 4, 2027 is a Monday.
• Broward County: The district’s calendar announcement gives the Dec. 21-Jan. 1 break but not the first day back; check the full calendar on the district site.
• South Florida: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach also share spring break, March 22-26, 2027. See our Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach calendars.

For full-year calendars, see our stories on NYC public schools and Chicago Public Schools.

Thanksgiving comes first

Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026. Of the 36 districts with Thanksgiving dates in the printable, 23 give students the whole week of Nov. 23-27 off, including Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, Houston, Gwinnett, Dallas, Denver and San Diego. Seven close Nov. 25-27: Clark County, Fairfax County, Wake County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Prince George’s County, Jefferson County and DC Public Schools. Six close Nov. 26-27: New York City, Chicago, Montgomery County, Baltimore County, Seattle and Hawaii. Our Thanksgiving break 2026 story has the list for the first 21 districts. The printable below lists each one.

Planning travel

The Saturday that starts the break, Dec. 19, and the Sunday before school resumes, Jan. 3, are likely to be busy travel days in districts that share the Dec. 21-Jan. 1 break. Families in Los Angeles have an extra week, through Sunday, Jan. 10. Check whether your school has an early dismissal on Friday, Dec. 18, and plan around the Jan. 4 staff day if your district has one. Our guide to January 2027 school holidays covers the month after the break.

Mark the dates on our printable school-year calendar and the December and January monthly calendars, see the school holidays guide, or print the one-page district table below.

Doing the last shopping with the kids home? Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day store hours list what closes early on Dec. 24.