Members of the Texas Senate Education Committee questioned the value of four-day school weeks at a hearing Tuesday, pointing to state testing data as districts across Texas keep adopting the schedule ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The number of Texas districts on a four-day calendar has climbed from two in 2017-18 to 62 in 2022-23 and 181 districts across 572 campuses in 2024-25, Community Impact reported. A Texas Education Agency study of the 2022-23 school year found students at four-day schools scored at least five percentage points lower on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness in fourth through sixth grade math and sixth through eighth grade reading, and averaged 85 fewer classroom hours a year than students on a five-day calendar.
Committee chair Sen. Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican, said she sees no benefit to a four-day week for a child. Sen. Jose Menendez, a San Antonio Democrat, said the Legislature should set basic minimum standards for instructional time. Education Commissioner Mike Morath and superintendents from Vernon-Northside ISD and Woodson ISD also testified.
No Lake Houston area district is on a four-day calendar. Humble ISD, New Caney ISD and Sheldon ISD all run five-day weeks.
