The new calendar will provide a one-week break in the fall, three weeks off in the winter and two weeks off in the spring. Summer vacation will be seven weeks, rather than the traditional 10 weeks. The exact dates of the breaks, and for starting and ending the school year, will be decided later.

The Department of Education expects the approved calendar to save money on school operations, such as bus and meal services, while making it easier to schedule teacher training. The change also may benefit families with children at more than one school.

Public charter schools are not bound by the new schedule, nor are four regular schools that operate on multitrack calendars: Holomua Elementary, Kapolei Elementary, Kapolei Middle and Mililani Middle.

About 100 schools currently operate on a traditional nine-month calendar, while more than 170 others follow a year-round schedule or a modified one similar to the new schedule.

Hawai'i schools began diverging from a common calendar more than 10 years ago, when some decision-making power was shifted to individual schools and communities.

But some parents with children at two or more schools on different schedules had complained that it was difficult to organize family vacations and special events.

Little objection was raised by parents, students or teachers in several previous hearings. A few parents submitted written testimony to the board in opposition to the calendar that was selected.

"Having only a one-week break from July to December will be stressful for younger kids and difficult for those of us that have or will have children in Mililani Middle School, which is multi-track, and other Mililani public schools which would run on the proposed schedule," wrote Matthew and Gloria Lau.

The DOE surveyed more than 126,000 parents, students and education employees before recommending the new schedule. It was not the most popular of five options presented, but it was one that few people strongly objected to, according to survey results presented in March. The survey was translated into 10 languages so it would be as inclusive as possible, officials said.

A unified school schedule was among the requirements of Act 51, also known as the Reinventing Education Act of 2004, a landmark state law aimed at reforming public education.

The board approval came after a majority of the board's members rejected a call from member Garrett Toguchi for an alternative calender, with a two-week fall break and a shorter summer vacation.

Toguchi said the longer fall break would provide more instructional opportunities for students, giving them a chance to boost achievement.

But board chairman Breene Harimoto said the panel would "set itself up for a big backlash" if it approved a calendar other than the one that a committee had voted in favor of earlier.

"Let's not forget all the months of discussion we've had," he said.