Chicago Public Schools Calendar 2026-27

The CPS 2026-27 calendar

This is the district's own calendar, as CPS publishes it. Tap it to open the full-size image.

Add the CPS calendar to your phone

Pick a file. Each one is an all-day event per day off, and a break is one event across all its days.

On an iPhone

Tap a file above, then tap Add All. The dates go into the calendar you choose.

In Google Calendar

On a computer, open Google Calendar, then Settings, then Import & export. Choose the file and the calendar to add it to. The dates show up on your Android phone too.

In Outlook

Open the downloaded file, or in Outlook on the web go to Add calendar, then Upload from file.

These files are a copy of the calendar today. If the district changes a date, download the file again.

CPS vacations and holidays, 2026-27

Every day with no school for students, from the first day to the last: 17 entries and 34 weekdays in all.

CPS early release days

The 2026-27 calendar prints no early release or half days. Every school day on it is a full day.

Schools can still send their own early dismissal notices, so watch for those.

Calendar notes: what to plan around

Long weekends and breaks

Every stretch of three or more days with no school, counting weekends.

• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Sept. 5 to Monday, Sept. 7. Labor Day. Back Tuesday, Sept. 8.
• 3-day weekend: Friday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 27. Professional development day. Back Monday, Sept. 28.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Oct. 10 to Monday, Oct. 12. Indigenous Peoples' Day. Back Tuesday, Oct. 13.
• 4-day weekend: Saturday, Oct. 31 to Tuesday, Nov. 3. Parent-teacher conference day and Election Day. Back Wednesday, Nov. 4.
• 9 days off in a row: Saturday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 29. Thanksgiving break. Back Monday, Nov. 30.
• 17 days off in a row: Saturday, Dec. 19 to Monday, Jan. 4. Winter break and professional development day. Back Tuesday, Jan. 5.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Jan. 16 to Monday, Jan. 18. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Back Tuesday, Jan. 19.
• 3-day weekend: Friday, Jan. 29 to Sunday, Jan. 31. Professional development day. Back Monday, Feb. 1.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, Feb. 13 to Monday, Feb. 15. Presidents' Day. Back Tuesday, Feb. 16.
• 9 days off in a row: Saturday, March 20 to Sunday, March 28. Spring break. Back Monday, March 29.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, April 10 to Monday, April 12. Parent-teacher conference day. Back Tuesday, April 13.
• 3-day weekend: Saturday, May 29 to Monday, May 31. Memorial Day. Back Tuesday, June 1.

Weeks with fewer than five school days

Thirteen weeks have fewer than five school days, and four weeks have none at all.

Teacher workdays: no school for students

Six of the days off are staff days. Teachers work; students stay home. Plan child care as you would for a holiday.

• Friday, Sept. 25: professional development day
• Wednesday, Nov. 11: professional development day
• Monday, Jan. 4: professional development day
• Friday, Jan. 29: professional development day
• Tuesday, Feb. 23: professional development day
• Tuesday, April 6: professional development day

Makeup days

Emergency day if needed, Tuesday, June 15, Emergency day if needed, Wednesday, June 16, Emergency day if needed, Thursday, June 17, Emergency day if needed, Monday, June 21 and Emergency day if needed, Tuesday, June 22.

Also worth knowing

• The calendar prints no testing windows.
• After the last day, the calendar still shows professional development day (June 14) and Observance Day holiday (July 5). Students are already out.

First and last day of school

The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The last day is Friday, June 11, 2027.

Teachers start sooner. Staff days before school run Aug. 17 to 21.

The district prints 176 instructional days across the quarters. Our count of the calendar matches.

Grading periods

CPS grades in quarters. The calendar prints each quarter's end date and day count. Each quarter below starts on the first school day after the last one ends.

What the district notes

• Preschool starts a day later and ends a day sooner: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 to Thursday, June 10, 2027.
• June 15 to 17, 21 and 22 are emergency days. School is in session on them only if CPS falls below the state's required number of student days, for example after emergency closings.
• Progress reports go home Sept. 24 and Dec. 11, 2026, and Feb. 26 and May 6, 2027.
• High school graduations cannot be held before Friday, May 28, 2027. Elementary graduations cannot be held before Monday, June 7, 2027.
• Summer programs (Summer Bridge, English Language Summer Support, Extended School Year, Summer Acceleration and High School Summer Credit Recovery) start no earlier than July 6, 2027 and may run into August 2027.
• District offices also close Dec. 25 to Jan. 1 and July 5.

How we checked these dates

We read every date off the district's own calendar twice: once from the PDF's text and once from the image, cell by cell against its legend. Then we checked each one against the district's Polish edition of the family calendar, the CPS staff calendar and the CPS District Calendar page.

Every weekday on this page matches its date. The district's printed day counts match our own count of its calendar. If the district changes its calendar, its page is the final word.