January 13, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

School days will be 10 minutes longer next year for Lewisville ISD students after the board of trustees voted Monday night to adjust start and end times to the school day.

The changes also mean that high school start times will be later than middle school, with elementary students still beginning their day first.

Beginning this fall, elementary schools will start at 7:40 a.m., followed by middle school at 8:15 a.m., and high school at 8:50 a.m. Dismissal will be at 3:05 p.m. for elementary, 3:40 p.m. for middle school, and 4:15 p.m. for high school.

“These changes come after ongoing feedback from our staff and community, as well as a thorough review of state requirements related to instructional minutes and how districts must account for emergency closures,” Superintendent Lori Rapp wrote in an email to parents. “We know that when our staff are supported with the time they need to do their work well, students benefit through stronger instruction, consistency, and stability across our schools.”

Rapp said the district currently has one of the shortest instructional days in the area with 435 minutes. State law requires districts to have at least 420 minutes each day and 75,600 minutes each year.

Under the current calendar, LISD has 175 school days and 76,125 hours of instruction, meaning there are less than two days of wiggle room if all weather makeup days are used up.

Dallas ISD has a 440-minute school day and Fort Worth’s is 450 minutes.

Now, LISD’s 445-minute day will allow an extra four days to work with for unforeseen events like weather. Rapp said it would help if one school has to close for an emergency like a power outage or flooding.

Board member Staci Barker said she heard from teachers often that they need more time during the day.

"While yes, these extra 10 minutes allow a safeguard for the things Dr. Rapp mentioned, the selling point for me was additional planning time for our staff members," Barker said at the meeting.

Rapp said the changes won’t affect holidays, the first, or last day of school, but the 10 extra minutes of instructional time will give the calendar committee more flexibility in future years to explore additional breaks.

The district put out a survey for parents to give feedback about what they’d like to see in future calendars and received more than 6,000 responses.