When is winter break in 2026?

1. December 161 district
2. December 182 districts
3. December 191 district
4. December 2199 districts
5. December 239 districts
6. December 2413 districts

Each row counts the tracked districts whose first day off is that date, on the 2026–27 calendars they have published. Counted by the day rather than by the week: almost every district here breaks up in the same week, so the week is not the part that varies — the day is.

1. January 451 districts
2. January 552 districts
3. January 618 districts
4. January 72 districts
5. January 112 districts

The first day back with students, 2027, counted forward across each district's own holidays — a district whose break ends on a Sunday but whose staff take the Monday goes back on the Tuesday, and this counts the Tuesday.

This table covers the 125 districts tracked on this site — the largest in each state — not every district in the country, and not every state. The last column names a week only where the districts behind it can carry the claim: at least 4 tracked districts with half of them or more starting winter break in the same week, at least 3 that all fall in one week, or a state that runs every public school on a single calendar. 13 of the 50 states listed clear that bar. Everywhere else the dash means what it means on the state's own page — with one or two districts there is no pattern to report, only the dates beside it.

No district's published calendar has been read yet in 1 of the 51 states and jurisdictions: Washington, D.C.. Districts are added largest first, so those states are still in the queue.

• When is fall break? — which districts take a week off in the autumn, which take a long weekend, and how many take none.
• When is Thanksgiving break? — the November dates, and how much of that week each district takes.
• When do schools start? — the same crosscut for the first day of school, state by state.
• When is spring break? — the week families book travel around, and the one that scatters furthest.
• When is the last day of school? — when the year ends, state by state.
• The 100th day of school — counted forward from each district's own first day.

When is winter break in 2026?

Of the 125 districts tracked here, in 50 states, 121 start winter break the week of December 21, 2026. The first day off still runs from December 16, 2026 to December 24, 2026, and the last runs to January 8, 2027. Students go back between January 4, 2027 and January 11, 2027, most of them on January 5, 2027.

How long is winter break?

Between 9 and 19 days off across the 125 districts tracked here, counting the weekends at either end — that is the way a family counts it, and the way each district's own calendar marks it. Most land on two weeks plus the weekends around them.

Do all schools take winter break at the same time?

Nearly, but not quite. 121 of the 125 districts tracked here start the week of December 21, 2026, and the rest spread over 5 other dates. Christmas fixes the middle of this break in a way nothing fixes spring break, which is why the spring dates on this site scatter much further. The days that vary are the ones either side: whether a district finishes the Friday before Christmas week or the Wednesday of it, and whether students are back on the first Monday of January or the day after.

When do students go back to school after winter break?

Between January 4, 2027 and January 11, 2027 across the districts tracked here — 52 of 125 on January 5, 2027. The return day matters more than the last day off for anyone arranging childcare, so it has its own column on every state page.

Is Christmas break the same as winter break?

It is the same break under a different name. The districts tracked here use 16 different ones for it — Christmas Break, December Break and Christmas-New Year Recess among them — and this site treats the long break that starts in December as the winter break whatever its calendar calls it. A February week off called "winter break", which a few districts do have, is a different thing entirely and is not what these dates are.

Which schools break up for winter first, and which break up last?

The earliest winter break tracked here starts December 16, 2026 — Jackson County School District in Mississippi. The latest starts December 24, 2026 — 13 districts, across Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. That is 8 days between the two, which is why there is no one national date to give.

When is winter break in Florida?

Most of the 13 Florida districts tracked here start it the week of December 21, 2026; across all of them, it runs from December 19, 2026 – January 3, 2027 at the earliest to December 21, 2026 – January 1, 2027 at the latest. Every tracked district's exact dates are on the Florida page.

When is winter break in Texas?

Most of the 27 Texas districts tracked here start it the week of December 21, 2026; across all of them, it runs from December 18, 2026 – January 4, 2027 at the earliest to December 21, 2026 – January 1, 2027 at the latest. Every tracked district's exact dates are on the Texas page.

When is winter break in New York?

NYC Public Schools, the one New York district tracked here so far, takes winter break December 24, 2026 – January 1, 2027. Every tracked district's exact dates are on the New York page.

When is winter break in California?

All 6 California districts tracked here start it December 21, 2026. Every tracked district's exact dates are on the California page.

When is winter break in Maryland?

Most of the 7 Maryland districts tracked here start it the week of December 21, 2026; across all of them, it runs from December 21, 2026 – January 1, 2027 at the earliest to December 24, 2026 – January 1, 2027 at the latest. Every tracked district's exact dates are on the Maryland page.

Can winter break dates change after they're published?

They can. Districts occasionally move a break to make up days lost to snow or storms, and a board can amend a calendar it has already adopted. Every date here is read from the district's own published 2026–27 calendar, and the district's page links that calendar — check it before you book travel.