Duval County Grading Periods 2026-27: All Four End Dates

Duval County's 2026-27 school year has four grading periods, ending Friday, October 9, Friday, December 18, Wednesday, March 10, and Friday, May 28, 2027. The first three are followed within days by a break or staff days. All dates come from the official DCPS academic calendar.

Grading periods are the only school dates that arrive silently. Breaks announce themselves for weeks. Quarter three just ends on a Wednesday like it's nothing.

The four quarters

• Quarter 1: August 10 through October 9, 2026. Students are then off October 12-13 for staff days.
• Quarter 2: October 14 through December 18, 2026. Winter break starts the following Monday.
• Quarter 3: January 6 through March 10, 2027. Students are off March 11-19 for staff days and spring break.
• Quarter 4: March 22 through May 28, 2027. That last day is also the last day of school.

Notice the pattern. Every quarter ends, then the building empties. Teachers finalize grades during those planning days, which is why report cards tend to surface after the students come back, not before.

Why the end dates sneak up

Quarter 1 is the trap. It ends October 9, which is exactly 60 days into the year, and the first six weeks move fast between hurricanes-that-might, picture day, and whatever fundraiser is currently circling. A missing assignment discovered on October 8 is a bad evening. The same assignment discovered on September 25 is a Tuesday.

Quarter 3 is the other one. It ends midweek on March 10 because spring break's staff days eat the Thursday and Friday. Midweek endings catch everyone.

When to actually check grades

Work backward from each end date. Two weeks out is the useful window, when there's still time to turn in the thing, retake the thing, or at least establish that the thing was never coming. Checking the parent portal the night grades close is not monitoring. That's spectating!

Quick win

Set four recurring reminders: September 25, December 4, February 24, and May 14. Each one sits two weeks before a quarter closes. Ten seconds of setup, four saved report cards.

The breaks that follow each quarter are mapped in our Duval County school calendar 2026-27 guide. And if quarter one already consumed the pencil pouch, our Jacksonville school gear guide has the replacement covered. Dates come from the official DCPS calendar and can be revised, so confirm at duvalschools.org.