Instructional Time Policies
What is the state’s requirement for minimum number of hours or minutes per school day?
January 2020
There are many exceptions to instructional time requirements across states, and not all of them are indicated in this 50-State Comparison. View the full instructional time 50-State Comparison here. View the full instructional time 50-State Comparison here.
|
STATE
|
What is the state's requirement
for minimum number of hours or minutes per school day? |
Notes on school day
|
Citation for school day
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | Set by the trustees of each local school district. | Wyo. Admin. Code 206.0002.22 § 5 | |
| Wisconsin | N/A | ||
| West Virginia | K-5: 315 minutes Grades 6-8: 330 minutes Grades 9-12: 345 minutes |
For comparison, the instructional minutes are equivalent to: K-5: 5.25 hours Grades 6-8: 5.5 hours Grades 9-12: 5.75 hours |
W. Va. Code Ann. § 18-5-45 |
| Washington | N/A | ||
| Virginia | Kindergarten: 3 hours Grades 1-12: 5.5 hours |
Includes passing time for class changes and excludes breaks for meals and recess. Recess may count as instructional time for elementary students so long as it does not exceed 15% of required instructional hours. | 8 Va. Admin. Code 20-131-150 |
| Vermont | Set by the State Board of Education. | State Board of Education rules can be found here. | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 16, § 1071 |
| Utah | Kindergarten: 2 hours Grades 1-12: 4 hours |
Utah Admin. Code r. R277-419-2 | |
| Texas | 7 hours | Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 29.0822 | |
| Tennessee | Kindergarten: 4 hours Grades 1-12: 6.5 hours |
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-201 Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3004 |
|
| South Dakota | Set by each local school board. | S.D. Codified Laws § 13-26-1 | |
| South Carolina | 6 hours | Includes lunch for elementary students. Excludes lunch for secondary students. | S.C. Code Ann. § 59-1-425 |
| Rhode Island | Full-day Kindergarten: 5.5 hours Grades 1-12: 6 hours |
16 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 16-99-3 16 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 16-2-2 |
|
| Pennsylvania | Kindergarten: 2.5 hours Grades 1-8: 5 hours Grades 9-12: 5.5 hours |
22 Pa. Code § 51.6 | |
| Oregon | Oregon sets maximum hours per day: Grades K-8: 8 hours Grades 9-12: 8.5 hours |
Or. Admin. R. 581-022-2320 | |
| Oklahoma | 6 hours | Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 1-111 | |
| Ohio | N/A | ||
| North Dakota | Half-day Kindergarten: 2.75 hours Full-day Kindergarten and Elementary: 5.5 hours High school: 6 hours |
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-06-04 N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-22-02 |
|
| North Carolina | Set by the local school board. | N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-84.2 | |
| New York | Half-day Kindergarten: 2.5 hours Full-day K-6: 5 hours Grades 7-12: 5.5 hours |
Excludes lunch for grades 7-12. | N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 175.5 |
| New Mexico | Half-day Kindergarten: 2.5 hours Full-day K-6: 5.5 hours Grades 7-12: 6 hours |
Excludes lunch. | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-2-8.1 |
| New Jersey | Full-day Kindergarten: 2.5 hours Grades 1-12: 4 hours |
N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:32-8.3 | |
| New Hampshire | N/A | New Hampshire sets maximums rather than minimums of instructional time per day. Elementary Schools: 5.75 hours Middle and High Schools: 6 hours Lunch, home room periods, passing time, and breaks do not count towards instructional time. Recess may count up to 30 minutes per day for elementary students. |
N.H. Code Admin. R. § 18 |
| Nevada | Kindergarten: 120 minutes Grades 1-2: 240 minutes Grades 3-6: 300 minutes Grades 7-12: 330 minutes |
Includes recess and time between activities but does not include lunch. For comparison, the instructional time in minutes are equivalent to: Kindergarten: 2 hours Grades 1-2: 4 hours Grades 3-6: 5 hours Grades 7-12: 5.5 hours |
Nev. Admin. Code 387.131 |
| Nebraska | Set by the State Board of Education. | Nebraska Department of Education's Days in Session/Instructional Program Hours Public and Special Purpose can be found here. |
Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 79-101 |
| Montana | Set by the trustees of a school district. | Mont. Code Ann. § 20-1-302 | |
| Missouri | 3 hours | Mo. Ann. Stat. § 160.041 | |
| Mississippi | 5.5 hours | Miss. Code. Ann. § 37-13-67 | |
| Minnesota | N/A | ||
| Michigan | N/A | ||
| Massachusetts | N/A | ||
| Maryland | 3 hours | Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 7-103 | |
| Maine | Kindergarten: 2.5 hours Grades 1-12: 5 hours |
Minumum length of a day is 3 hours, but the average over a 2-week period must be at least 5 hours. | Code Me. R. tit. 05-071 Ch. 125,, § 6 |
| Louisiana | 360 minutes | Excludes recess. For comparison, the instructional minutes are equivalent to: 6 hours |
La. Stat. Ann. § 17:154 |
| Kentucky | 6 hours | Kindergarten programs may operate for less than 6 hours with state board approval. | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 158.060 |
| Kansas | 5 hours | K.S.A. 72-3120 | |
| Iowa | Grades 1-12: 6 hours | Or 30 hours per week. Excludes lunch. Includes parent-teacher conferences and passing periods. |
Iowa Code Ann. § 256.7 |
| Indiana | Grades 1-6: 5 hours Grades 7-12: 6 hours |
Includes participation in an approved course, a curriculum, or an educationally related activity including a reasonable amount of passing time between classes; it does not include lunch or recess. | Ind. Code Ann. § 20-30-2-2 Ind. Code Ann. § 20-30-2-1 |
| Illinois | Half-day Kindergarten: 2 hours Full-day K-1: 4 hours Grades 2-12: 5 hours |
105 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/10-19.05 | |
| Idaho | Set by the board of trustees of each school district. | Idaho Code Ann. § 33-512 | |
| Hawaii | N/A | ||
| Georgia | Grades K-3: 4.5 hours Grades 4-5: 5 hours Grades 6-12: 5.5 hours |
Daily average based on 180 day school year. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 160-5-1-.02 |
| Florida | N/A | ||
| District of Columbia | 5 hours | D.C. Code Ann. § 38-2901 | |
| Delaware | 3.5 hours | Excludes lunch. | Del. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 1049 |
| Connecticut | N/A | A district shall not count more than 7 hours of actual school work in any school day towards the total required for the year. | Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 10-16 |
| Colorado | N/A | ||
| California | Kindergarten: 180 minutes Grades 1-3: 230 minutes Grades 4-12: 240 minutes |
No kindergarten student shall be in school for more than 4 hours. The school day in grades K-8 excludes noon intermissions. Recess is excluded, except for in kindergarten. For comparison, the instructional minutes are equivalent to: Kindergarten: 3 hours Grades 1-3: 3.83 hours Grades 4-12: 4 hours |
Cal. Educ. Code § 46117 Cal. Educ. Code § 46112 Cal. Educ. Code § 46113 Cal. Educ. Code § 46141 Cal. Educ. Code § 46111 Cal. Educ. Code § 46115 |
| Arkansas | 6 hours | Or 30 hours per week. At least 40 minutes of recess must be included in instructional time for elementary schools. |
Ark. Code Ann. § 6-16-102 |
| Arizona | N/A | ||
| Alaska | Grades 1-3: 4 hours All Other Grades: 5 hours |
Excludes intermissions. | Alaska Stat. Ann. § 14.03.040 |
| Alabama | 6 hours | Excludes recess and lunch. | Ala. Admin. Code 290-3-1-.02 |
| Puerto Rico | Set by the Secretary of Education. | § 145t Academic duties and obligations of the Secretary, 3 L.P.R.A. § 145t |