Wylie ISD students are returning to school next week and will have three weeks of instruction before their first holiday.

The Wylie ISD school year begins Thursday, Aug 11. The first semester of the new year will consist of 81 days and the second 94 days for a total of 175 days until final dismissal on May 26. The schedule, however, is interspersed with several holidays to ensure students have time away from their studies to relax.

First on the holiday list is Labor Day on Sept. 5, followed by fall break scheduled for Oct. 10 through Oct. 14.

Schools will be closed for Thanksgiving Nov. 21-25 and for two weeks Dec. 19 – Dec. 30 for Christmas Break.

Students will be off Jan. 16 for Martin Luther King Jr Day and will receive another week off for Spring Break March 6-10. Schools will also be closed on April 7 and April 10 for Easter before beginning the final stretch until the end of the year.

School start times this year are 7:30 a.m. for elementary students, 8:15 a.m. for intermediate and junior high campuses, and 9 a.m. at the high schools.

With back-to-school season here, the Texas Department of Transportation is reminding motorists and parents to take precautions to prevent traffic crashes and injuries in and around school buses.

State law requires approaching motorists to stop when a school bus is stopped and operating a visual sign, typically a stop sign or red flashing lights, regardless of which direction a motorist is going. Drivers should not resume speed until the bus resumes motion, or the visual signal is no longer activated. A driver does not have to stop for a school bus if it is on a highway with intervening space or physical barrier such as a median. Violations of this law can lead to a $1,000 fine.