Baltimore County schools calendar options include secondary orientation days

Racquel Bazos, The Baltimore Sun on Sep 23, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Baltimore County Public Schools staff unveiled proposals for the 2027-2028 school calendar on Tuesday, including options for starting the year before and after Labor Day and orientation days for sixth and ninth grade students.

Joelle Bielski, the district’s director of staff relations and employee performance management, said the committee that developed the calendar options preferred to start the year before the holiday.

“The same topics continue to surface each year as to why a pre-Labor Day start is more beneficial for our students,” she said.

Starting before Labor Day gives students more time to either take or prepare for various assessments, from the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment to the SAT. Another benefit of the earlier start is more time to enroll students, Bielski said. Enrollment data is required to be reported to the Maryland State Department of Education by Sept. 30.

“The pre-Labor Day start provides five additional days to get students enrolled. If students are not enrolled by the nonnegotiable Sept. 30 deadline, funding is compromised,” Bielski said.

Maryland schools have to hold a minimum of 180 student days, with 1,080 required hours for elementary and middle school students and 1,170 required hours for high schoolers. Teachers can have no more than 191 duty days.

The latest change proposed by the district would give separate earlier first days for all elementary school students, sixth grade and ninth grade students. The day would be used for sixth and ninth grade orientation, according to Bielski.

“Students will experience an actual sample schedule, practice changing classes, using lockers and learning lunch procedures. The goal is making the first day of school less stressful when all secondary students report.”

Starting before Labor Day would range the school year between Aug. 30, 2027, and June 14, 2028. On the pre-Labor Day calendar, that means schools would be open for all grades on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2027. The day before, Monday, Aug. 30, 2027, would open for grades one through five, six and nine. The first full day of kindergarten would be the Wednesday of that week.

The school year would range from Sept. 7, 2027, through June 16, 2028, if starting after the holiday. Under the post-Labor Day start option, teachers and school-based staff would start on Aug. 30, 2027. Grades one through five, six and nine would start the following day, with first through 12th grade that Wednesday and kindergarten beginning on Thursday.

Both schedules would provide three days for inclement weather, with makeup days available throughout the spring. The post-Labor Day calendar proposal would have two of those makeup days on the first two makeup days of spring break, with the other on a systemwide professional development day.

The pre-Labor Day option’s inclement weather makeup days are June 12 through June 14. If no makeup days are needed, school would end the previous Friday, June 9, 2028.

Public comment on the calendar proposals will be held on Oct. 6. The board is scheduled to vote on the calendar on Nov. 4.

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