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Liberty Hill ISD

Building Champions in Academics, Character, and Community

Calendar FAQ Page

Academic Calendar Changes FAQ

  • Timeline of events:

    • December 15, 2025 - The LHISD Board of Trustees approves the waiver
    • December 16, 2025 - LHISD submits the waiver to TEA for approval
    • December 17, 2025 - TEA responds, asking LHISD to submit additional information within 30 days to support the calendar as a 5-day calendar. 
    • January 7, 2026 - LHISD procures input from districts with similar calendars regarding their messaging to TEA on a 4-day vs 5-day calendar. 
    • January 9, 2026 - LHISD resubmits the waiver request and additional information.
    • January 9, 2026 - TEA denies the waiver request
    • January 12th-16th, 2026 - LHISD staff research options and coordinate with other districts to determine options and best course of action going forward
    • January 20, 2026 - An internal decision is made to make a calendar change going forward, and the need to convene committees for reviews, options, and discussion
    • January 21, 2026 - Notice of impending weather to the LHISD area, which may cause school delays and cancellations, which potentially adds to the number of days needed to make up
    • January 25, 2026 - School is canceled, and there is an increasing need to add more days back, and a notice is sent to staff and parents

  • TEA does not have a clear definition in the School Accounting and Attendance Handbook (SAAH) of a 4-day week versus a 5-day week definition.

  • There were two separate calendar minutes to be made up that became one larger calendar concern in the same frame.

    The week of Jan 25, LHISD was planning on announcing (in the weekly newsletter) the concern of the waiver and potential plan to make up the minutes, followed by feedback sessions from parents and staff on how to work through them.

  • Our athletic and fine arts directors will coordinate with coaches, teachers, and directors to ensure practices and games continue with minimal disruption in the school day.

  • Student and staff absences will continue like normal.  If anyone has something scheduled, they should attend it and coordinate with their attendance clerk or principal. The sooner absences can be entered, the sooner we can ensure they are covered.

  • Those should continue like normal and turn in notes to the attendance clerk to ensure the absences are excused and accounted for.

  • LHISD used TEA’s School Accounting and Attendance Handbook (SAAH) (page 72) as a foundation for calendar decision-making.

    The calendar is based on operational minutes. Without a clear TEA definition of a 4-day school week, as LHISD staff works 5 days per week operationally, with many hours of the Fridays dedicated to professional learning, it was expected that it would qualify for the waiver as it has in the past several years.

  • This fall, LHISD was not aware of other districts filing for waivers and being approved or denied.

    After the initial denial, LHISD began engaging with other districts to understand how they were navigating this concern. There is no required timeline for waiver approval during the school year.
     

  • LHISD fully expected its calendar waiver would be approved for the 2,100-minute professional development waiver, as it has in the past several years.

    TEA’s School Accounting and Attendance Handbook (SAAH) (page 72) is a foundation for calendar decision-making. The calendar is based on operational minutes, and without a clear TEA definition of a 4-day school week, and LHISD staff working 5 days per week operationally, we believed the waiver applied to our calendar.

  • Ultimately, the decision is owned by the superintendent. He is committed to updating processes and the sharing of information to avoid these types of problems in the future. We have formed a calendar advisory committee made up of parents and staff to advise the district in calendar creation going forward.

  • The responsibility does not fall on the state. The responsibility falls onto LHISD.

  • LHISD has historically applied for this professional development waiver to count towards operational minutes that support the learning our teachers and staff do to improve their instructional practices.  

  • At the time, in early January, the staff did not want to announce this concern without having a solution. The week of January 12 was dedicated to research and review on potential options. In hindsight, the district should have communicated this sooner. 

    During the week of January 20, it became clear that the only option going forward was to make a calendar change. The initial plan was to share this information with staff and parents the following week, with no changes coming until later in March or May, giving the district time to work with families and staff.

    Once the weather forecast became clearer that school may need to be canceled and rescheduled, there were limited options. Two problems affecting the calendar were becoming one in the need to make up minutes and days.

  • The week of January 25th.

  • We accept responsibility for this problem. We are committed to working toward solutions. We accept the challenge to learn from it and do our best not let it happen again. We will be forming a calendar advisory committee made of staff and parents from all campuses and grades to help the district create a calendar going forward.

  • From this experience, we understand that communicating early and often when potential problems arise is best practice. Our community wants to support our schools, and involving them in the solution early on will help build transparency and trust.

    Right now, we will be forming a calendar advisory committee made of staff and parents from all campuses and grades to help the district create a calendar moving forward.