District/School Calendar

The Official School Calendar is the single document around which a school district functions. The School Code mandates a minimum of 185 days in the proposed school calendar to insure 176 days of pupil attendance. The School Code also defines the "types" of days which may be included in the calendar, i.e., Teacher Institutes, Parent/Teacher Conferences, etc.

The proposed school calendar is to be submitted to South Cook ISC no later than June 15^th
The final school calendar is to be submitted to South Cook ISC no later than the last day of school
The data on the final school calendar must agree with the data included on the district's General State Aid Claim

For additional information:

https://www.isbe.net/school-calendar

Holiday Waivers

Should a district choose to be in session on any of the following five legal holidays, the district must go through the waiver process.
Abraham Lincoln's Birthday (February 12)
Martin Luther King Day (third Monday in January)
Casmir Pulaski's Birthday (first Monday in March)
Christopher Columbus' Birthday (second Monday in October)
Veteran's Day (November 11)

The steps for the waiver process are as follows:

The district must hold a public hearing about the proposal
A 14 calendar day notice shall be provided to both educators and parents preceding the public hearing
The notice must be posted on the district website at least (14) calendar days in advance of their board meeting/public notice
The notice shall set forth the time, date, place of the hearing, and describe the proposal
The notice must indicate that testimony will be taken from educators and parents about the proposal
After the hearing, the school board will approve the proposal; as long as no term dates are included in the proposal, the waiver is good for life
Once the school board has approved the waiver, a letter on district letterhead should be sent to South Cook ISC. The letter should outline the date the public hearing was held, the list(s) of specific holidays that have been waived, and the date that the school board officially approved the waiver. Upon receipt of the holiday waiver information, South Cook ISC will be able to approve student attendance days on the approved holidays.

The district must recognize the person or persons honored by the holiday through instructional activities conducted on that day or, if the day is not used for student attendance, on the first school day preceding or following that day.