First Day of School/Last Day of School

School Calendar: Roster by Session

First Day of School (FDS) and Last Day of School (LDS) refer to the school calendar dates (Month / Day / Year) that indicate the beginning and end of a school year.

Schools will provide the dates for the First Day of School and the Last Day of School by providing the dates associated with an annual Session Name, using either “FDS/LDS” or “School Calendar” as the Session Name.

• The Begin Date for the session will be counted as the First Day of School (FDS).

• The End Date for the session will be counted as the Last Day of School (LDS).

First Day of School and Last Day of School data is mentioned frequently in state statutes by the name of ‘school term’. This information is highly sought and utilized by various organizations, families, vendors, sports conferences, etc.

These school types are strongly encouraged to submit this data: Public school districts, public charter schools, as well as DHS, DOC, WSD, WCBVI, and CCDEB schools.

This collection is optional for private Choice schools, as Choice schools already submit this information through the Online Application System (OAS).

Starting with the 2023-24 school year, Student Information System (SIS) vendors will collect these dates at the school level. This means each individual public school must enter this data into their SIS. There is no district or ‘parent’ level input of these dates.

There are two ways schools can submit this information:

1. The preferred method for obtaining this data is that each school should send an annual session with a Begin Date and an End Date, specifically for the purpose of providing FDS/LDS information. The Session Name should be FDS/LDS or School Calendar.

2. The other way to submit FDS/LDS information is for the school/LEA to submit their session through part of the school’s Roster data at the start of the school year, then DPI will use the session’s earliest begin date as the FDS and latest end date as the LDS.

Rules for FDS

• Month of the start date must occur in July, August, or September.

• DPI school year starts July 1.

  • If the annual session Begin Date submitted by the school is listed as starting before July 1, DPI will pull the Begin Date submitted that occurs closest to July 1.

Rules for LDS

• Month of the end date must occur in May or June.

• DPI school year ends June 30.

  • If the annual session End Date submitted by the school is listed as ending after June 30, DPI will pull the End Date submitted that occurs closest to June 30.

If multiple annual sessions are submitted from one school, DPI will collect FDS and LDS based on the earliest provided date and the latest date provided.

This information can be viewed on the Agency Contacts screen within WISEdata Portal.