Liberty Hill ISD families and staff,

This week’s cold weather, freezing temperatures and icy roads has caused us to have to cancel school for Monday and possibly Tuesday, depending on how much the conditions improve. This was the safest call to ensure everyone was able to stay off the roads and stay warm. District and campus staff have been working through several calendar questions this past week, in addition to the recent weather cancellations, that we want to share with you.

The current school calendar will be short operational minutes that determine school funding unless some adjustments can be made. The approved calendar does not have enough additional minutes built into it, so when school is canceled or delayed, the minutes must be made up.

• The canceled school day for Monday, Jan. 26 will be made up on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.

• If school is canceled on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the school day will be made up on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.

• If additional school days are canceled, those days will have to be made up as well.

The current school calendar’s total minutes includes a 2,100 minutes day waiver that LHISD assumed would be approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as it has been in the past. This waiver was denied because our approved innovative calendar has a combination of four-day and five-day student weeks. In order to make up these missed minutes students will attend school on the following days:

• Friday, March 6, 2026

• Friday, March 27, 2026

• Friday, May 8, 2026

• Friday, May 15, 2026

Based on our survey in the fall semester, there was majority support to continue an innovative calendar next school year. Now that this additional information above is known, the district will create a calendar advisory committee made up of parents and staff. This committee will meet in February to better understand the calendar rules and allowances, review calendar options from around the state, and assist the district in creating a school calendar for next school year. If you want to be on the Calendar Advisory Committee, Sign Up Here.  We will select approximately 30 individuals with staff from all campuses, parents from different schools, and parents with varying ages of students to represent all levels.

FAQ:

How did LHISD calculate school minutes?

• TEA requires school districts to have at least 75,600 operational minutes as indicated in the SAAH on page 72. The approved LHISD calendar is made up of:

  • 73,390 LHISD operational minutes

    • 157 school days x 470 minutes per day PLUS 

  • 2,100 professional development waiver minutes EQUALS

    • Sept.19, 2025:  240 minutes

    • Oct. 3, 2025: 480 minutes

    • Nov. 14, 2025: 240 minutes

    • Jan. 16, 2026: 240 minutes

    • Jan. 30, 2026: 240 minutes

    • Feb. 6, 2026: 240 minutes

    • Feb. 13, 2026: 240 minutes

    • March 6, 2026: 240 minutes

  • 75,890 total minutes (+290 minutes/+0.9 days)

Why did the district not build additional minutes and days into the calendar?

• Our approved innovative calendar has two bad weather days noted for make up, May 8, 2026 and May 15, 2026. Our calendar accounted for, as it has in the past, the 2,100-minute professional development day waiver would be approved. This waiver was not approved and LHISD now has to make up those 2,100 minutes in addition to making up any bad weather days.

Can the district add minutes to the school day in addition to or in place of adding student school days?

• Yes, LHISD can start earlier or end later to add minutes. Based on feedback from the fall survey, parents and staff indicated the day was already too long.

  • Adding 5 minutes to the day would equal approximately 0.9 additional days

  • Adding 10 minutes to the day would equal approximately 1.6 additional days

  • Adding 15 minutes to the day would equal approximately 2.2 additional days

• At this time, we are not planning to add minutes to the school day.

Why was the 2,100 minutes day waiver not approved?

• TEA updated their School Accounting and Attendance Handbook (SAAH) and indicated on page 76 the 2,100-minute professional development waiver would not be approved for school districts operating on a four-day school week. TEA does not have a definition of a four-day school week. Liberty Hill ISD has stated its locally approved calendar was innovative and made up of a combination of different types of weeks. LHISD submitted a letter to TEA documenting our calendar intentions in expectation for the waiver approval to be reconsidered, but it was denied, forcing LHISD to now make up the minutes.

Why is the district now making calendar adjustments?

• After the staff professional development waiver was denied in January, district staff began researching and contacting other districts that may have been affected as well to get an understanding of their action steps. Staff began reviewing internal options and calculations on calendar changes to see what actions could be taken with or without changes to the current calendar. Staff wanted to ensure there was a full understanding and every option was reviewed before moving forward with solutions. This process was underway when the recent weather events required immediate adjustments to the calendar, accelerating the need to finalize plans.

What happens if Liberty Hill ISD does not make up the calendar minutes?

• The amount of funding LHISD receives is based on the number of students that attend school within the allotted minutes in the calendar. If the minutes are not made up and the calendar has less than 75,600 minutes, LHISD is expected to receive less funding.

How are you going to select members for the calendar advisory committee?

• District staff will review all names submitted to find the best cross-section of parents and staff from all campuses and age ranges that have varying view points to ensure all ideas are considered.