The short version: First days across the Purchase run from August 5 (Calloway County) to August 12 (Paducah and Metropolis), registration is open now in most districts, and no, Kentucky is not having a tax-free weekend this year. Here is every verified date and requirement in one place.
Twenty-five days until the first buses roll. New shoes by the door, a name taped to a desk somewhere, the same porch photo every family takes and never regrets. It comes around faster every summer, and the dates that govern it are buried in PDFs three clicks deep on nine different district sites. So we pulled all nine, verified every date on the district's own calendar, and lined them up. Clip this one.
When does school start in each district?
Between August 5 and August 12, depending on your side of the county line.
In plain text: Calloway County starts Wednesday, August 5 (calendar; last day May 13, 2027, marked tentative). McCracken County, Thursday, August 6, with August 5 a half-day registration day (district). Graves County, Thursday, August 6; preschool August 11 (district). Mayfield Independent, Thursday, August 6; preschool August 12, Kindergarten Kickoff August 2, Back-to-School Nights August 4 (calendar). Marshall County, Thursday, August 6 (documents). Murray Independent, Thursday, August 6; registration open since July 1 (calendar). Ballard County, Friday, August 7; Bomber Bash August 1, preschool August 10 (calendar). Paducah Independent, Wednesday, August 12 (district). Massac Unit 1, across the river in Metropolis, Wednesday, August 12 (calendar).
The quiet oddity in the list: a family on the Paducah-McCracken line has kids starting six days apart.
What do I have to do before the first day?
Register, even if your kid went last year. The step parents miss most is that returning students re-register online every year in most districts. Murray puts it bluntly on its registration page: "You are not fully enrolled until you have completed both steps of the online registration process." Murray's window opened July 1 and takes an online form plus a household income form. McCracken County runs a half-day registration day August 5. Check your district's site or front office this month, not in August.
New-student paperwork, per state requirements:
Birth certificate, or other reliable proof of age and identity
Kentucky immunization certificate on file within two weeks of enrollment
Eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist (ages 3 to 6) by January 1 of the first year
Dental screening by January 1
A physical within the year before sixth grade
Can my child start kindergarten this year?
Only if they turn five by August 1. Kentucky's cutoff makes a child who turns five on August 2 wait a year, and a child must be enrolled somewhere by six. Districts can take early-entry petitions under local board policy, so a summer-birthday family with a ready kid should ask the district office rather than assume. Mayfield runs a Kindergarten Kickoff August 2, 2 to 4 pm at the elementary school, which is a friendly first look for the littles either way.
Is there a tax-free weekend for school shopping in Kentucky?
No. This is the most repeated back-to-school rumor every July, and here is the paper trail: House Bill 175, which would have created an August 7-9, 2026 sales tax holiday, died in committee in January. It never got a floor vote. So budget for the full 6 percent, or watch for the retailers' own sales instead.
If the supply list is the hard part this year, help exists and it is local. Stuff the Bus runs Saturday, July 18, 8 am to 1 pm at both Paducah Walmarts (Hinkleville Road and Irvin Cobb Drive), a drive that supplies more than 1,100 students a year across McCracken, Ballard, and Carlisle counties. It is the drive's 17th year. Drop-off boxes also sit at Signet Federal Credit Union and the McCracken County library. And if your own kid needs supplies, call your school's family resource center; that is exactly what they are for.
What else lands on the calendar before the bell?
The first-week ritual list, verified so far: Ballard's Bomber Bash August 1, Mayfield's Kindergarten Kickoff August 2, fifth-grade orientation August 3, and Back-to-School Nights August 4 (middle school 4 to 6, elementary 5 to 7). Open-house dates in the other districts post through July; this guide updates as they land. The McCracken County Fair runs July 25 through August 1, which means fair week and first-bell week land back to back. Plan the laundry accordingly.
FAQ
When does school start in Paducah and McCracken County in 2026? Paducah Independent starts Wednesday, August 12. McCracken County starts Thursday, August 6, with a half-day registration day August 5.
Does Kentucky have a tax-free weekend in 2026? No. The bill that would have created one (HB 175) died in committee in January 2026.
What age can a child start kindergarten in Kentucky? Five years old by August 1, 2026. Early-entry petitions go through your local school board's policy.
What immunizations and forms does my child need? A current Kentucky immunization certificate within two weeks of enrolling, plus the eye exam and dental screening by January 1 for new starters, and a physical before sixth grade.
Where can I get help with school supplies in the Paducah area? Stuff the Bus, Saturday July 18 at both Paducah Walmarts, or your school's family resource center any time.
