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Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 234.20. Minimum amount of instructional time per year and policies on textbooks, by state: Selected years, 2000 through 2020
State Minimum amount of instructional time per year Policies on textbooks, 2014
In days In hours Textbook selection
level
Free
textbooks
provided
to
students
2000 2006 2011 2014 2020 2020 State Local
education
agency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Alabama 175   175 180   180 1 180 1 1,080 X       X  
Alaska 180   180 170 2 180 3 180 1 740 (K-3); 900 (4-12)     X   X  
Arizona ---   180 180 1 180 1 180 1 712 (1-3); 890 (4-8); 720 (9-12)     X   X 4
Arkansas 178   178 178 2 178 3 178       X 5 X  
California 175   180 180/175 6 180/175 6 180 7 600 (K); 840 (1-3); 900 (4-8); 1,080 (9-12) X 8     X  

Colorado
[9 ]   160 160   160   160   450/900 (K); 990 (1-5); 1,080 (6-12)     X      
Connecticut 180   180 180   180   180   450/900 (K); 900 (1-12)     X   X  
Delaware [9 ]         1,060 (K-11); 1,032 (12)     X   X  
District of
    Columbia
180 10 180 178   180   180           X  
Florida 180   180 180   180   180 1 720 (K-3); 900 (4-12) X       X  

Georgia
180 10 180 180   180   180 1 X       X  
Hawaii 184   179 180 11 180 11 180 2,11 1,08011 X       X 12
Idaho 180         4503 (K); 8103 (1-3); 9003 (4-8); 9903 (9-12) X       X  
Illinois 180 13 176 176   180 3 185       X   [14 ]  
Indiana 180   180 180   180   180       X      

Iowa
180   180 180   180   180   1,080     X      
Kansas 186   186 (K-11); 181 (12) 186 (K-11); 181 (12)   186 (K-11); 181 (12)   186 (1-11); 181 (12)   465 (K); 1,116 (1-11); 1,086 (12)     X      
Kentucky 175   175 175 2 170 2 170 3 1,062 X       X 15
Louisiana 175   177 177 2 177 2,16 177 1 1,062 X       X  
Maine 175   175 175 2 175 2 180 16     X   X  
                                 
Maryland 180   180 180   180   180   1,080; 1,170 (High)     X   X  
Massachusetts 180   180 180   180   180 16 425 (K); 900 (1-5); 990 (6-12)     X   X  
Michigan 180   165   175   180   1,098     X   X 17
Minnesota [9 ]   [9 ]     165 (1-11)   425/850 (K); 935 (1-6); 1,020 (7-12)     X   X  
Mississippi 180   180 180   180   180   X       X  

Missouri
174   174 174/142 18 174/142 18   522 (K); 1,044 (1-12)     X   X  
Montana 180   90 (K); 180 (K-12)       360/720 (K); 720 (1-3); 1,08016 (4-12)     X   X  
Nebraska [9 ]         400 (K); 1,032 (1-8); 1,080 (9-12)     X   X  
Nevada 180   180 180   180   180   X       X 12
New Hampshire 180   180 180   180   180 1,16 450 (K); 945 (Elementary); 990 (Middle); 990 (High)     X   X  

New Jersey
180   180 180   180   180       X   X  
New Mexico 180   180 180       450/990 (K); 990 (1-6); 1,080 (7-12) X       X  
New York 180 10 180 180   180   180   450/900 (K); 900 (1-6); 990 (7-12)     X   X  
North Carolina 180   180 180   185   185 1 1,025 X       X  
North Dakota 173   173 175 2 175 2   481.25/962.53 (K); 962.53 (1-5); 1,0503 (6-12)     X   X 17

Ohio
182   182 182 3     450/910 (K); 910 (1-6); 1,001 (7-12)     X   X  
Oklahoma 180   180 180 3 180   180 1 1,0803 X       X  
Oregon [9 ]         450/900 (K); 900 (1-8); 990 (9-11); 966 (12) X       X  
Pennsylvania 180   180 180   180   180 1 450 (K); 900 (1-6); 990 (7-12)     X   X  
Rhode Island 180   180 180   180   180 1 1,080     X   X 17

South Carolina
180   180 180 2 180 2 180 3 X          
South Dakota ---         437.5 (K); 875 (1-5); 962.516 (6-12)     X   X  
Tennessee 180   180 180 2 180 2 180 3 X       X  
Texas 187   180 180   180     1,260 X       X  
Utah 180   180 180   180   180   990 X   [19 ]      

Vermont
175   175 175   175   175 3     X   X  
Virginia 180   180 180   180   180 1 540 (K); 990 (1-12) X       X  
Washington 180 13 180 180   180   180 20 450 (K); 1,000 (1-8); 1,080 (9-12)     X   [21 ]  
West Virginia 180   180 180   180   180   X       X  
Wisconsin 180   180 180       437 (K); 1,050 (1-6); 1,137 (7-12)     X      
Wyoming 175   175 180   175   175   450 (K); 900 (1-5); 1,050 (6-8); 1,100 (9-12)     X   X  
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
X Denotes that the state has a policy. A blank denotes that the state does not have a policy.
1 Or an equivalent number of hours or minutes of instruction per year.
2 Does not include time for in-service or staff development or parent-teacher conferences.
3 Includes time for in-service or staff development or parent-teacher conferences. No more than 22 hours of staff development can be counted toward Idaho’s instructional time requirement, and no more than 30 hours of staff development can be counted toward Oklahoma’s requirement.
4 Fees permitted at the high school level for nonrequired or supplementary textbooks.
5 State Department of Education prepares a list of suggestions, but the districts choose.
6 Through 2014-15, districts were allowed to shorten the 180-day instructional year to 175 days without fiscal penalty.
7 Select districts are required to have 175 days.
8 Statewide textbook adoption is only at the elementary level. Adoption practices have been suspended until the 2015–16 school year.
9 No statewide policy; varies by district.
10 1996 data.
11 Does not apply to charter and multitrack schools.
12 Fees for lost or damaged books permitted.
13 1998 data.
14 Fees permitted, but if 5 percent or more of the voters in a district petition the school board, a majority of the district's voters may decide to furnish free textbooks to students.
15 Fees permitted for students in grades 9-12, but students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch are exempted.
16 Instructional time for graduating seniors may be reduced.
17 Refundable or security deposits permitted.
18 174 days required for a 5-day week; 142 days required for a 4-day week.
19 Local districts may select textbooks not on the state recommended list provided the textbooks meet specific criteria and the selection is based on recommendations by the district's curriculum materials review committee.
20 180 half-days for kindergarten.
21 A district may provide free textbooks to students when, in its judgment, the best interests of the district will be served.
NOTE: Minimum number of instructional days refers to the actual number of days that pupils have contact with a teacher. Some states allow for different types of school calendars by setting instructional time in both days and hours, while others use only days or only hours. For states in which the number of days or hours varies by grade, the relevant grade(s) appear in parentheses. For states that specify minimum hours both for part-day kindergarten and for full-day kindergarten, a slash separates the part-day hours from the full-day hours.
SOURCE: Council of Chief State School Officers, Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education, 2000 and 2006; Education Commission of the States, StateNotes, Number of Instructional Days/Hours in the School Year (August 2011 and October 2014 revisions), retrieved September 22, 2011, from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/95/05/9505.pdf and May 19, 2015, from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/15/05/11505.pdf; State Textbook Adoption (September 2013 edition), retrieved May 19, 2015, from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/09/23/10923.pdf; Instructional Time: What's the State's Requirement of Minimum Number of Days or Hours/Minutes in a School Year?, retrieved May 20, 2020, from https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-instructional-time-policies/; and supplemental information retrieved from various state websites. (This table was prepared May 2020.)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest