Missouri school holidays

Missouri law keeps districts from starting more than fourteen days before the first Monday in September, which is why the state goes back noticeably later than Texas or Georgia. All three districts on this page return in the same week of August and finish in the same week of May, making Missouri one of the more predictable states to plan around.

Kansas City Public Schools and Rockwood in the St. Louis suburbs both start on August 24, 2026, with Springfield Public Schools following on August 25. Springfield finishes on May 27, 2027, and Kansas City and Rockwood both on May 28.

Thanksgiving is split between the full week and the short version. Kansas City Public Schools, which formally calls Thanksgiving week its fall break because it has no October closure, takes November 23 to 27, 2026. Springfield and Rockwood take November 25 to 27 only.

Winter break starts December 21, 2026 in Springfield and Kansas City, and two days later on December 23 in Rockwood. Springfield and Kansas City run to January 1, 2027, with Kansas City students back on January 5, while Rockwood runs to January 4.

Spring break divides the state neatly in two. Springfield and Rockwood take March 15 to 19, 2027, and Kansas City takes the following week, March 22 to 26. If you are traveling between St. Louis and Kansas City, those two weeks feel very different at either end.

Springfield adds several standalone closures that are easy to miss: November 2 and 3, 2026, January 4 and March 22, 2027 are all professional learning days with no school.

Springfield's professional learning days are the most useful thing on this page. A Monday off on January 4, 2027 or March 22, 2027 turns an ordinary weekend into a three-day break at a time when nowhere else in Missouri is on holiday, and attraction prices reflect that.

Winter weather is the other planning factor. Rockwood absorbs up to nine snow days without moving its last day, but ten or more will shift the calendar, so treat the end of May as provisional if it has been a hard winter.

This page covers Springfield Public Schools, Kansas City Public Schools and the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County.