Minimum amount of instructional times
per school year (by grade, if applicable)
State
Oregon
In days
1
In hours
Half-day kindergarten=450; full-day
kindergarten=900; grades 1-8=900;
grades 9-11=990; grade 12=966
(includes recess for grades kindergarten-
3)
†
Minimum number of hours per
school day School start/finish
† District option, but no
fewer than 265
consecutive calendar
days between first and
last instructional day
5
19
Pennsylvania 180 2 Kindergarten=450; grades 1-8=900;
grades 9-12=990 Kindergarten=2.5; grades 1-8=5.0;
grades 9-12=5.5 District option
Rhode Island 180 2 1,080 Kindergarten=5.5; grades 1-12=6 District option
South Carolina 180 8 † 6.0 (elementary includes lunch) Start no earlier than third
Monday in August
† District option
Kindergarten=4.0; grades 1-
12=6.5 Start no earlier than 8/1
7.0 Start no earlier than the
fourth Monday in August
Kindergarten=450; grade 1=810; grades
2-12=990 Kindergarten=2.0; grades 1-
12=4.0 District option
Determined regionally
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Kindergarten=438; grades 1-5=875;
grades 6-12=963 (includes intermission
for elementary school)
District option
180
8
†
1,260 (includes intermissions and
recesses)
†
180
5
20
7
Vermont 175 8 † Kindergarten=2.0 per day or 10 per
week; grades 1-2=4.0 per day or
20 per week; grades 3-12=5.5 per
day or 27.5 per week (includes
recess for grades 1-8 and excludes
lunch) Virginia 180 2 Kindergarten=540; grades 1-12=990 Kindergarten=3.0; grades 1-
12=5.5 (excludes lunch and recess) Start after Labor Day
Washington 180 Kindergarten=1,000; grades 1-8=1,000;
grades 9-12=1,080 † District option
West Virginia 180 † Grades kindergarten-5=5.3; grades
6-8=5.5; grades 9-12=5.8 District option
† Kindergarten=437; grades 1-6=1,050;
grades 7-12=1,137 † Start no earlier than 9/1
175 Kindergarten=450; elementary=900;
middle/junior high=1,050;
secondary=1,100 † District option
Wisconsin
Wyoming
† Not applicable. State does not have a requirement in this category.
1
For more detailed information on state-level instructional time in days and hours, please refer to the table referenced in the SOURCE portion of this table. The table may
be accessed at: https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-instructional-time-policies/.
2 District option to meet either minimum hours per school year or days per school year.
3 For all grades, hours only apply if board submits an acceptable plan under which students will receive the educational equivalent of 180 days.
4 Students in grades 9-12 must enroll in at least 4 subjects, in addition to the hour requirement.
5 May include in-service professional development days, staff development, parent-teacher conferences, planning, or similar activities.
6 Charter schools and select districts are required 175 days. More details may be found at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/lcffitfaq.asp.
7 State specifies instructional time in minutes.
8 May exclude professional development days, in-service education, planning, parent-teacher conferences, and similar activities.
9 Districts may count up to 7 hours/day toward the total required for the year.
10 Does not apply to charter and multi-track schools.
11 185-day calendar that includes 170 instructional days, plus 4 days for professional development.
12 Early dismissal of seniors allowed up to 10 instructional days.
13 Students in grade 12 may have their year reduced to 170 days.
14 Minimum length of a day is 3 hours, but the average over a 2-week period must be at least 5 hours.
15 Schools must be open for pupil attendance for at least 3 hours.
16 If a collective bargaining agreement that provides a complete school calendar was in effect, then this does not apply until after the expiration of that collective bargaining
3