| Event | Date(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| First Day of School | August 10, 2026 (Mon) | School Opens |
| Labor Day | September 7, 2026 (Mon) | No School |
| Student Holiday | October 12, 2026 (Mon) | No School |
| Veterans Day | November 11, 2026 (Wed) | No School |
| Fall Break | November 23, 2026 - November 27, 2026 | No School |
| Winter Break | December 21, 2026 - January 4, 2027 | No School |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 18, 2027 (Mon) | No School |
| Florida State Fair Day | February 12, 2027 (Fri) | No School |
| Presidents' Day | February 15, 2027 (Mon) | No School |
| Strawberry Festival Day | March 8, 2027 (Mon) | No School |
| Spring Break | March 22, 2027 - March 29, 2027 | No School |
| Student Holiday | April 16, 2027 (Fri) | No School |
| Last Day of School | May 28, 2027 (Fri) | School Closes |
Complete month-by-month calendar for Hillsborough County Public Schools. Every day is color-coded so you can see school days, holidays, and breaks at a glance.
The Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) is the seventh-largest school district in the nation and the third-largest in Florida, with approximately 230,000 students in more than 260 schools. Stretching over 1,000 square miles in the Tampa Bay area, HCPS serves everything from the urban core of Tampa to the agricultural communities of Plant City and eastern Hillsborough.
What makes HCPS uniquely Floridian: students get days off for the Florida State Fair (February 12) and the Florida Strawberry Festival (March 8) - calendar holidays you won't find in any other major U.S. school district. The district also operates a large magnet school network, IB programs, and career academies in healthcare, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.
Hurricane preparedness remains a key planning factor: HCPS designates several makeup days that can be activated if storms cause closures. The 2026-2027 calendar was approved by the School Board on June 17, 2025.
County context: Hillsborough County Public Schools serves families across Hillsborough County, where the district calendar is the practical baseline for school-year planning. For 2026-2027, students are scheduled to start on August 10, 2026 and finish on May 28, 2027. The main family planning blocks are Fall Break (November 23, 2026 - November 27, 2026), Winter Break (December 21, 2026 - January 1, 2027), and Spring Break (March 22, 2027 - March 26, 2027). Parents can use this view for travel windows, shared-custody exchanges, childcare coverage, after-school activities, and comparing district days off with work schedules.
What to watch: Notable local calendar items include Fall Break (November 23, 2026 - November 27, 2026), Florida State Fair Day (February 12, 2027), Strawberry Festival Day (March 8, 2027), and Non-Student Day (October 12, 2026). Early release or half-day entries to watch include Last Day of School / 2.5-hour Early Release (May 28, 2027). Teacher planning days and student holidays are separated from regular school days whenever the official source identifies them. Weather or makeup-day language is preserved in the page notes when the district publishes it, which matters for hurricane-season planning and emergency childcare coverage.
Official-source handling: This calendar is compiled from the official Hillsborough County Public Schools 2026-2027 Student Academic Calendar. We manually review first-party district material, screen it for student-facing dates, and organize it into key dates, calendar grids, downloadable files, and printable summaries. Because this page is marked official, families can use it as the main planning view while still checking the district source for late revisions. User-submitted corrections are checked against official district sources before this page is updated.
The first day of school for all HCPS students is Monday, August 10, 2026.
Spring Break runs from March 22-26, 2027. Students return on Tuesday, March 30 (March 29 is a non-student day).
Yes. This calendar was officially approved by the HCPS School Board on June 17, 2025.
Florida State Fair Day (February 12, 2027) is a unique non-student day specific to Hillsborough County. The Florida State Fair is held annually in Tampa, and the district gives students the day off. This holiday does not exist in other Florida counties.
Strawberry Festival Day (March 8, 2027) is another Hillsborough County-specific holiday. The Florida Strawberry Festival takes place in Plant City, and students receive the day off. The official calendar notes this date changed from March 1 to March 8 to coincide with the festival.
The last day of school is Friday, May 28, 2027, with a 2.5-hour early release.
HCPS designates tentative hurricane make-up days, including October 12, November 11, November 23-25, 2026, and January 4, 2027. If storms cause closures, these days may be converted into student days.
Data Source: This calendar is compiled from the official Hillsborough County Public Schools 2026-2027 Student Academic Calendar.
Official Source: Visit the Hillsborough County official calendar source.
How we adapt the calendar: FL School Calendar converts district calendar documents into a parent-friendly view focused on student attendance, holidays, breaks, teacher planning days, early releases, downloadable calendar files, and printable summaries.
Disclaimer: This website is not affiliated with Hillsborough County Public Schools or the Florida Department of Education. While we strive for accuracy, always verify important dates with the official district website before making travel, childcare, work, or attendance plans.
Last updated: May 21, 2026