Missouri School Calendar 2026-2027: Spring Break & Winter Break Dates
Missouri has 515 public school districts, and each adopts its own school calendar. Together they enroll 861,692 students; the largest, Springfield R-XII, enrolls 24,285 (NCES, 2024-25).
The dates below are statewide planning windows for 2026-27 and 2027-28: our estimate of when most Missouri schools take each break. They are not any one district's official calendar, so check your own district's calendar before booking travel.
Last updated: · Next review: January 2027
Dates vary by district. Use the statewide windows below for planning, then confirm with your local school district calendar before booking travel. Read how we source these dates.
Largest school districts in Missouri
5 districts enroll 12% of Missouri's district students. The other 510 districts each set a calendar of their own, so two schools a few miles apart can break in different weeks.
| District | Students | Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Springfield R-XIISpringfield | 24,28556 schools | Check the district's website |
| North Kansas City 74Kansas City | 21,25234 schools | Check the district's website |
| Rockwood R-VIEureka | 19,59731 schools | Check the district's website |
| Columbia 93Columbia | 18,64036 schools | Check the district's website |
| Wentzville R-IVWentzville | 17,97321 schools | Check the district's website |
Enrollment and district counts: NCES Common Core of Data, LEA directory 2024-25 (via Urban Institute Education Data API). Counts cover regular local school districts; enrollment is fall 2024.
How Missouri law shapes the school calendar
- Start and end dates
- Start: no earlier than 14 days prior to the first Monday in September.
- Starting in the 2020-21 school year, schools may start earlier if they give appropriate public notice.
- Mo. Ann. Stat. § 171.031
- Minimum instructional time
- No minimum school days are required.
- Kindergarten: 522 hours
- Other Grades: 1,044 hours
- Mo. Ann. Stat. § 171.031; Mo. Ann. Stat. § 163.021
Source: Education Commission of the States 50-state comparison, published January 2020 (days and hours, start and finish dates). Calendar statutes change, so check the cited section for the current text. Every state side by side: school calendar laws by state.
Good to know in Missouri
Most districts follow this calendar pattern, though private schools may vary a bit on start dates and religious holidays.
Missouri law restricts school start dates to no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day, leading to a consistent late August start.
Missouri's 2027-2028 year continues with the legally mandated start dates and observation of Truman Day in May.
Missouri school breaks: quick answers
The most searched Missouri dates for 2026-27 at a glance.
When is winter break in Missouri 2026-27?
Winter break in Missouri (2026-27) is December 23, 2026 - January 1, 2027.
When is spring break in Missouri 2026-27?
Spring break in Missouri (2026-27) is March 15 - 19, 2027.
When is summer break in Missouri 2026-27?
Summer break in Missouri (2026-27) is May 29, 2027 - August 22, 2027. Exact dates vary by district — confirm with your local school calendar.
When does school start and end in Missouri 2026-27?
School in Missouri (2026-27) starts August 24, 2026 and ends May 21 - 28, 2027.
Sources & verification
The statewide windows are our planning estimates, not transcribed from a single official calendar. District pages linked above are transcribed from each district's own published calendar. Official sources for Missouri:
Compare with other states
Planning guides:
- When does school start in America? Start dates by state
- When does school end in America? Last day of school by state
- US summer break 2027 dates by state
- Spring break 2027 & 2028 dates by state
- Winter break dates by state
- Thanksgiving break dates by state
- Easter school holidays and the spring break overlap
- Back-to-school planning guide
- Easter and Good Friday dates 2027-2036
- Thanksgiving dates 2027-2036
Research from our own calendar data: