Fewer Early Release Days Coming To Scottsdale Unified: Here’s The New Schedule

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Scottsdale Unified is swapping four early release afternoons for two full days off in its 2026-27 school calendar, and parents need to update their plans before the year starts.

The Governing Board approved the changes as part of a pilot program aimed at reducing the number of early release days, which the district said can be disruptive to family schedules.

The goal is to consolidate staff professional learning and collaboration time into full release days rather than scattering it across shortened afternoons throughout the year.

What’s Changing

Four dates that were previously early release days will now be regular full school days:

• Sept. 16, 2026
• Oct. 7, 2026
• Dec. 9, 2026
• Jan. 13, 2027

In exchange, two new full release days with no school have been added:

• Oct. 9, 2026
• Jan. 4, 2027

For most families, the practical effect is fewer midday pickups and schedule shuffles during the week, with two full days to plan around instead.

The district has asked families to update their calendars. The pilot covers the 2026-27 school year, though the district did not say how the program will be evaluated or whether the changes could become permanent.