Washington school holidays

Washington requires 180 instructional days and lets districts decide how to reach them, and the three on this page have reached quite different conclusions. Seattle Public Schools starts on September 2, 2026, Tacoma Public Schools not until September 9, and Spokane Public Schools a fortnight ahead of both on August 26.

Spokane is the outlier for a reason: it has moved to a balanced calendar, trading a chunk of summer for an earlier start and additional October and February breaks. That single decision is why an eastern Washington family and a Puget Sound family can now be on completely different rhythms.

The finishes reflect the same logic. Spokane is out on June 17, 2027, Seattle on June 21 and Tacoma on June 23. Every one of those dates carries emergency make-up days behind it, which in Washington means snow, so late June is provisional right across the state.

Only Spokane takes a fall break, October 19 to 23, 2026. Seattle and Tacoma run straight through from Labor Day to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is short. Seattle closes only for November 26 and 27, 2026, and Spokane and Tacoma for November 25 to 27. Many Seattle elementary and K-8 schools additionally close November 23 to 25 for family-teacher conferences, but that varies school by school rather than district-wide, so check your own school's letter.

Winter break is December 21, 2026 to January 1, 2027 in all three districts, one of the few dates the whole state agrees on.

Mid-winter break is the Washington signature. Seattle and Spokane both close for the full week of February 15 to 19, 2027. Tacoma does not: it takes only Presidents' Day and the following day, February 15 and 16. That is the sharpest divide on this page, and it catches out families with children in schools either side of the county line.

Spring break falls in April rather than March. Seattle and Spokane both take April 12 to 16, 2027, and Tacoma goes a week earlier, April 5 to 9.

February 15 to 19 is the busiest family week of the Washington winter. Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass and every indoor attraction in Seattle feel it at once, because two of the three big districts are off together and Tacoma has a long weekend inside the same window.

Late March is the quiet spot. Most of the country takes spring break then, and nobody in Washington does, so a Puget Sound trip in the last two weeks of March is about as uncrowded as school-holiday travel gets.

Watch the June make-up days. Seattle holds June 22 and 23, Spokane June 21 and 22, and Tacoma June 24 and 25 in reserve for snow closures. In a heavy winter the summer start slips by a couple of days.

This page covers Seattle Public Schools, Spokane Public Schools and Tacoma Public Schools.