Louisiana planning guide

Louisiana School Breaks 2026

Louisiana school break dates are set by each parish school district rather than by one statewide calendar, so exact days differ from one system to the next. Most districts build in a winter break around the December holidays, a spring break in March or April, and a long summer break running from late May into early August. Many Louisiana districts, especially in and around New Orleans and south Louisiana, also close for Mardi Gras, though the exact days always vary by parish and shift every year.

Accuracy note: Break dates, including Mardi Gras closures, differ by parish and can change from year to year, so always confirm the exact days on your own district's published calendar before finalizing travel or childcare plans. This matters most for Mardi Gras, since not every parish observes it the same way.

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Louisiana school break overview

Louisiana does not use a single statewide school calendar. Each parish school board approves its own schedule, and cities like New Orleans include several public school systems with their own calendars, so the timing below reflects common patterns rather than confirmed dates for any single district. Louisiana is also one of the few states where the local school-district unit is called a "parish" instead of a "county," a legacy of the state's unique colonial history, and that naming shows up throughout official calendar pages and district websites.

The table below is a starting point for planning, not a substitute for your district's official calendar. Because Mardi Gras timing shifts every year with the Christian liturgical calendar, and because individual parish boards set their own closure lengths around it, the Mardi Gras row is especially important to double-check locally before booking travel.

How to find your Louisiana district's calendar

• Search for "[Parish] school calendar 2026-2027," since Louisiana uses parishes rather than counties as its local school-district unit.
• Visit the parish district's official website and look for a "Calendar" or "Academic Calendar" link, often under a "Parents" or "Families" menu.
• Look for a downloadable PDF calendar, which is often more detailed than a summary calendar widget on the homepage.
• Confirm the calendar has been board-approved for the correct school year, since districts sometimes post draft versions before final approval.
• Large systems such as Jefferson Parish Schools, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Orleans Parish and New Orleans-area public schools, Caddo Parish Public Schools, and St. Tammany Parish Public Schools each publish their own calendars, so search by the exact parish or district name rather than assuming neighbors match.
• Sign up for your district's newsletter, app, or text alerts, since weather and Mardi Gras closure updates are often announced there first.

Louisiana school holidays and long weekends

• Louisiana districts commonly close for or around New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mardi Gras, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
• Many districts also add professional development days, parent-teacher conference days, and other in-service days that are not always visible on a simplified calendar view.
• Mardi Gras closures vary the most: some parishes take a single day for Fat Tuesday, others close for most of the week, and some hold classes as usual, so review our federal holidays guide for how national holidays typically fit into a district calendar and check locally for Mardi Gras specifics.
• Neighboring parishes can have noticeably different holiday schedules, particularly around Mardi Gras season, so do not assume a nearby district's calendar applies to yours.
• Louisiana's overall holiday pattern generally follows the national mix of federal and school-specific days described in our US school year guide, with Mardi Gras layered on top as a distinctly regional addition.

Planning for parents

• Check your specific parish district calendar rather than relying on a statewide assumption or a neighboring district's schedule.
• Look up your district's Mardi Gras closure plan specifically, since this varies more than almost any other break in Louisiana.
• Compare calendars if your children attend schools in different parishes or in a mix of public and other school systems.
• Book spring and summer travel early, since Louisiana districts often start the new school year in early-to-mid August, following the wider Southern pattern described in our US school year guide.
• Use a national planning tool like our school breaks calendar to keep track of typical windows alongside your confirmed district dates.
• If you have children in more than one parish, or in both public and other school systems, build a shared household calendar early so overlapping or non-overlapping breaks do not catch you off guard.

Planning for teachers

• Plan around shortened instructional weeks before and after Mardi Gras and other breaks, when attendance and focus often dip.
• Track professional development and in-service days separately from student holidays when building a personal calendar.
• Build flexibility into pacing guides in case weather-related closures require make-up days later in the term.
• Confirm whether a given date, especially around Mardi Gras, is a full closure, a staff-only day, or a normal school day before finalizing lesson plans.
• Coordinate with colleagues on shared pacing calendars, especially in parishes where Mardi Gras closures or make-up days can shift the number of instructional days available before spring testing windows.

Family travel in Louisiana

• Mardi Gras season draws heavy crowds and higher hotel demand in New Orleans and other south Louisiana parishes, regardless of whether your own district closes for it.
• Gulf Coast destinations see strong demand through the long Louisiana summer break, so book lodging and activities well ahead of peak weeks.
• Thanksgiving and winter break travel fills up quickly statewide; reserve flights and hotels as early as possible.
• If you are comparing travel timing with family in other Southern states, our guides to Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia school breaks outline similar regional patterns.
• Because Mardi Gras timing changes every year, families planning a New Orleans-area trip around it should double-check both the current-year date and their own district's closure plan well in advance rather than relying on a prior year's schedule.

Louisiana School Breaks FAQ