How Many Weeks Are There in a School Year?

The 180-day school year is covered in this blog along with school breaks, popular holidays, and classroom activities for teachers to use.

There are 52 weeks in a calendar year, as we all know, but how many weeks are there in a school year? Did you know that the response varies depending on which hemisphere, nation, region, and even state you reside in?

For instance, Chilean students have the world’s longest summer break, lasting more than three months! How many weeks are there in a school year then? Frankly, many states, districts, and school types have different durations. Typically, a typical U.S. school year has approximately 36 weeks or 180 days.

Read this blog and you can learn more about how many weeks are there in a school year.

How Many Weeks Are There in a School Year?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there are typically about 160 to 185 school days in a year with an average of 175-180 days. Again, this number fluctuates per state, district, etc. Some schools also offer the choice of meeting a required minimum of instructional hours per academic term rather than days.

The average number of hours needed is 1080, but for high school grades, the range from 720 to 1,260 hours. There are only 400 hours needed for lower grades like kindergarten. We all wish we could go back to this time as adults, before the 2080 hours of work we have to endure each year!

Again using the South Florida school as an example, the academic year ran for 211 weeks beginning in August. 19th 2020 to The school is closed on 31 of those days, leaving 180 school days as of June 9th, 2021.

However, the school year in Houston, Texas lasts 40 weeks out of the year and is open for 36 of those weeks. With 199 weekdays in total, it runs from September 8th, 2020, to June 11th, 2020. After accounting for 28 days of holidays and teacher planning, the school term in Houston is only 171 days of instructional time.

How Many Weeks of School Are There in Each State?

We’ll go into more detail now that you’ve got a general idea of how many weeks there are in a school year. The number of days in each state’s school year is listed below.

• Alabama: 180 days minimum
• Alaska: 180 days minimum
• Arizona: 180 days minimum
• Arkansas: 178 days minimum
• California: 175-180 days minimum (varies by district)
• Colorado: 160 days minimum
• Connecticut: 180 days minimum
• Delaware: Hourly requirement only
• District of Columbia (Washington, DC): 180 days minimum
• Florida: 180 days minimum
• Georgia: 180 days minimum
• Hawaii: 180 days minimum
• Idaho: Determined by individual school districts
• Illinois: 176-185 days minimum
• Indiana: 180 days minimum
• Iowa: 180 days minimum
• Kansas: 186 days minimum (grades K-11), 181 days minimum (grade 12)

• Kentucky: 170 days minimum
• Louisiana: 177 days minimum
• Maine: 180 days minimum
• Maryland: 180 days minimum
• Massachusetts: 180 days minimum
• Michigan: 180 days minimum
• Minnesota: 165 days minimum
• Mississippi: 180 days minimum
• Missouri: Hourly requirement only
• Montana: Determined by individual school districts
• Nebraska: Hourly requirement only
• Nevada: 180 days minimum
• New Hampshire: 180 days minimum
• New Jersey: 180 days minimum
• New Mexico: Hourly requirement only
• New York: 180 days minimum
• North Carolina: 185 days minimum
• North Dakota: Hourly requirement only
• Ohio: Determined by individual school districts
• Oklahoma: 180 days minimum
• Oregon: Hourly requirement only
• Pennsylvania: 180 days minimum
• Rhode Island: 180 days minimum
• South Carolina: 180 days minimum
• South Dakota: Determined by individual school districts
• Tennessee: 180 days minimum
• Texas: Hourly requirement only
• Utah: 180 days minimum
• Vermont: 175 days minimum
• Virginia: 180 days minimum
• Washington: 180 days minimum
• West Virginia: 180 days minimum
• Wisconsin: Hourly requirement only
• Wyoming: 175 days minimum

In conclusion, 36 weeks (at five days a week) of school is required in 29 states and the District of Columbia, which averages out to 180 school days per year. According to each city, county, or school district, the other 21 states are different. The school year typically starts in August and lasts until June of the following year throughout the majority of the US.

Did you notice which state has the lowest minimum requirement for school days? Kids lucky enough to live in Colorado may only go to school for 160 days each year, which is four entire weeks shorter than the rest of the nation!

Common U.S. School Holidays

From Spring Break to Labor Day and Thanksgiving, American schools all share a number of holidays and vacation days.

Spring Break

Most schools take a whole week (five days) off in March to celebrate Spring Break. For both students and teachers, it’s usually the final full break before the summer break.

Fall Break

In the fall, either during the week of Thanksgiving or in October, some schools take a full week off, similar to how they do during Spring Break.

Winter Break

Winter Break typically gives students the final two weeks of December off to observe holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve/Day. For some, this may be one of their favorite vacations. The initial semester—the first two quarters—ends with this break.

Labor Day

This holiday marks the first significant day off for both students and teachers this academic year. It falls on the first Monday in September. Some schools might even begin classes on the first day back from this holiday to signify the conclusion of the summer break.

Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving Break

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Thanksgiving week may be off for both students and teachers so they can spend the days with friends and family. Thanksgiving week is designated as the official start of fall break by some schools, colleges, and universities.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This holiday, which falls on the third Monday of January every year, honors the life and contributions of civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Jr. Some colleges and universities mark this day as the last day of winter break, and the following Tuesday is the first day of the spring semester.

President’s Day

President’s Day, which is observed on the third Monday in February and honors all former presidents of the United States, from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Joe Biden, is another significant holiday.

Snow Days

All school districts in snowy states hold internal discussions to decide whether to open or close their facilities on these days (s). Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Alaska are the top five states with 89 to 64 inches of snowfall on average.

Schools usually cancel if areas receive six inches to a foot or more of snow. Some schools don’t use snow days, enabling parents, teachers, and staff to use their discretion based on road conditions.

Teacher Workdays

Teachers can use teacher workdays in some districts and states, including Colorado, to submit final grades for a quarter or semester. Schools implement teacher workdays so that students can stay at home while teachers go and distribute final grades for report cards in order to allow students to focus.

What Times of Day Do American Students Attend School?

In general, schools in the US start and end more quickly than those in other developed countries—a practice that experts say is highly illogical. Let’s take a look at the average start time for middle school and high school students in each state.

• Alabama: 7:49 AM
• Alaska: 8:33 AM
• Arizona: 8:03 AM
• Arkansas: 8:01 AM
• California: 8:07 AM
• Colorado: 7:54 AM
• Connecticut: 7:46 AM
• Delaware: 7:42 AM
• District of Columbia: 7:58 AM
• Florida: 8:17 AM
• Georgia: 8:09 AM
• Hawaii: 8:03 AM
• Idaho: 8:13 AM
• Illinois: 8:13 AM
• Indiana: 7:58 AM
• Iowa: 8:23 AM
• Kansas: 8:00 AM
• Kentucky: 8:03 AM
• Louisiana: 7:40 AM
• Maine: 7:53 AM
• Maryland: 7:55 AM
• Massachusetts: 7:53 AM
• Michigan: 7:54 AM
• Minnesota: 8:18 AM
• Mississippi: 7:47 AM
• Missouri: 7:54 AM
• Montana: 8:13 AM
• Nebraska: 8:07 AM
• Nevada: 7:51 AM
• New Hampshire: 7:46 AM
• New Jersey: 8:00 AM
• New Mexico: 8:10 AM
• New York: 7:59 AM
• North Carolina: 8:03 AM
• North Dakota: 8:31 AM
• Ohio: 7:52 AM
• Oklahoma: 8:10 AM
• Oregon: 8:14 AM
• Pennsylvania: 7:48 AM
• Rhode Island: 7:50 AM
• South Carolina: 8:03 AM
• South Dakota: 8:13 AM
• Tennessee: 7:57 AM
• Texas: 8:05 AM
• Utah: 8:05 AM
• Vermont: 8:05 AM
• Virginia: 8:04 AM
• Washington: 8:08 AM
• West Virginia: 7:54 AM
• Wisconsin: 7:59 AM
• Wyoming: 7:59 AM

The typical start time across the country is before 8 AM, which frequently interferes with children’s and adolescents’ innate sleep cycles. It’s also problematic for parents who work a traditional nine-to-five job, especially considering most school days end between 2 PM and 3 PM.

Conclusion: Weeks in a School Year

In the United States, there are regional and even state-level variations in the number of weeks in a school year. There are 180 instructional days spread across the 39 weeks that the schools are open. It’s helpful to know how many weeks there are in a U.S. school year as parents purchase supplies and teachers get ready for a new group of students to enter their classroom.

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