School holidays in the United States
| School holidays in the United States | |
|---|---|
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| Observed by | Schools in the United States |
| Type | National |
In the United States, the academic year typically has about 180 school days for K-12, running from the early (Northern Hemisphere) fall to early summer. Colleges and universities often have shorter years. School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which schools are closed.
Public schools for grades K-12 typically have the following vacations and holidays:
Schools offering summer camp are also off on Independence Day though the regular school year generally includes this holiday as part of the larger summer break.
Most colleges and universities have the following breaks/holidays:
Most colleges and universities divide the school year into two semesters. The fall semester often begins the day after Labor Day in early September and runs until mid-December. The spring semester typically starts in the middle or end of January and runs until May. Winter and summer classes might be offered in January and May–August.
Weather-related cancellations, such as snow days and hurricane-related closures, can affect school calendars, as can local emergencies such as water main breaks, gas leaks, structural problems, or shootings. Some K-12 districts build in a certain number of expected snow days, though in warmer climates typically none are scheduled. If the expected number is different from the actual number of canceled days, the beginning of summer vacation might be adjusted to keep the school year the same length. If there are too many canceled days, some districts will keep the beginning of summer vacation from moving too far by holding school during a scheduled spring vacation, or by holding school on Saturdays, professional development days, or other scheduled holidays. If the cancellation does reduce the number of days of instruction below the state minimum, the district may decide to simply drop the missed day from the academic year.
Colleges and universities set their own cancellation policies, and typically do not add makeup days, though they also cancel school more rarely, especially for residential campuses.
Where different days have different schedules (e.g. math and English on Mondays, science and art on Tuesdays), the schedule of remaining days might be adjusted to ensure all subjects retain the same number of instructional days per year.
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