Texas schools adopt four-day weeks amid mixed results

School districts in Texas, including the Amarillo area, are increasingly adopting four-day school weeks to combat teacher recruitment and retention challenges. To meet the state requirement of 75,600 instructional minutes per year, some districts have implemented longer school days or earlier start times.

While the schedule is popular among students and staff, the transition has yielded mixed results. Although some districts report slight decreases in spending and a significant drop in bullying, other negative outcomes have emerged. Reported issues include an increase in juvenile crime and heightened food insecurity among students during the extra day off.