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	7124 (1-3); 8904 (4-8); 7204(9-12)			X		X	5
Arkansas	178		178	178	2	178	3	[6]		†			X	7	X
California	175		180	180/175	8	180/175	8	180	9	600 (K); 840 (1-3); 900 (4-8); 1,080 (9-12)	X	10			X
Colorado	[11]		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	[11]		†	†		†		†		1,060 (K-11); 1,032 (12)			X		X
District of     Columbia	180	12	180	178		180		180		†					X
Florida	180		180	180		180		180	1	720 (K-3); 900 (4-12)	X				X
Georgia	180	12	180	180		180		180	1,13	†	X				X
Hawaii	184		179	180	14	180	14	180	2,14	1,08014	X				X	15
Idaho	180		†	†		†		[11]		4503 (K); 8103 (1-3); 9003 (4-8); 9903 (9-12)	X				X
Illinois	180	16	176	176		180	3	185	17	†			X		[18]
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	19
Louisiana	175		177	177	2	177	2,20	177	1	1,062	X				X
Maine	175		175	175	2	175	2	180	20	†			X		X
Maryland	180		180	180		180		180		1,080; 1,170 (High)			X		X
Massachusetts	180		180	180		180		180	20	425 (K); 900 (1-5); 990 (6-12)			X		X
Michigan	180		†	165		175		180		1,098			X		X	21
Minnesota	[11]		[11]	†		†		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	22	174/142	22	†		522 (K); 1,044 (1-12)			X		X
Montana	180		90 (K); 180 (K-12)	†		†		[11]		360/720 (K); 720 (1-3); 1,08020 (4-12)			X		X
Nebraska	[11]		†	†		†		†		400 (K); 1,032 (1-8); 1,080 (9-12)			X		X
Nevada	180		180	180		180		180		†	X				[15]
New Hampshire	180		180	180		180		180	1,20	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	12	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	21
Ohio	182		182	182	3	†		[11]		450/910 (K); 910 (1-6); 1,001 (7-12)			X		X
Oklahoma	180		180	180	3	180		180	1	1,0803,23	X				X
Oregon	[11]		†	†		†		†		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	21
South Carolina	180		180	180	2	180	2	180	3	†	X
South Dakota	---		†	†		†		[11]		437.5 (K); 875 (1-5); 962.520 (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		[24]
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	16	180	180		180		180	25	450 (K); 1,000 (1-8); 1,080 (9-12)			X		[26]
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 Instructional hour requirement includes lunch.

5 Fees permitted at the high school level for nonrequired or supplementary textbooks.

6 Set by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas.

7 State Department of Education prepares a list of suggestions, but the districts choose.

8 Districts were allowed to shorten the 180-day instructional year to 175 days without fiscal penalty.

9 Select districts are required to have 175 days.

10 Statewide textbook adoption is only at the elementary level. Adoption practices were suspended until the 2015–16 school year.

11 No statewide policy; varies by district/city/school board.

12 1996 data.

13 Testing, counseling, and health screenings are considered instructional time.

14 Does not apply to charter and multitrack schools.

15 Fees for lost or damaged books permitted.

16 1998 data.

17 Designed to ensure 176 days of student attendance.

18 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.

19 Fees permitted for students in grades 9-12, but students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch are exempted.

20 Instructional time for graduating seniors may be reduced.

21 Refundable or security deposits permitted.

22 174 days required for a 5-day week; 142 days required for a 4-day week.

23 Beginning in the 2021-22 school year, the minimum hours must be met within 165 days of instruction.

24 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.

25 180 half-days for kindergarten.

26 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 April 7, 2021, from https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-instructional-time-policies/; and supplemental information retrieved from various state websites. (This table was prepared April 2021.)