AUSTIN (KXAN) — TGIF: Austin ISD students might see a few shortened Fridays this spring, following a proposal floated by district officials Thursday.

In a family newsletter, AISD outlined options for early release Fridays due to challenges teachers are facing, referring to the early releases as opportunities to “provide additional support” to teachers as they navigate the spring semester.

“Our teachers have had a hard year and we’re working on ways we can provide additional support during this challenging time,” the newsletter said in part.

The district is currently considering three separate options:

• 3-hour early releases: If selected, AISD would have 3-hour early releases on one Friday each month and twice in May. Beginning in February, that would translate to a total of five 3-hour early release days.
• 2-hour early releases: If chosen, AISD would have nine 2-hour early release days throughout the spring semester, beginning in February.
• No early release: If opted, the district would make no changes to the calendar and the spring schedule would continue under current, unaltered operations.

Officials said the early release days wouldn’t translate to extra days added onto the district calendar; AISD can meet its state required instructional minutes without adding days.

The district gathered feedback through Sunday and will outline next steps in the coming days.