The year is divided into four nine-week sessions, separated by four three-week vacations. School is in session for nine weeks (45 days) followed by a three-week vacation (15 days). This sequence of sessions and vacations repeats four times each year, thus providing the usual 36 weeks or 180 days of school.

180 days
Michigan schools have been required to provide at least 180 days of instruction.

While state requirements vary on the number of instructional days and hours in the year, the majority of states set the school year at 180 days (30 states). Eleven states set the minimum number of instructional days between 160 and 179 days, and two states set the minimum above 180 days (Kansas and Ohio).

It’s a critical day for public school districts around Michigan. Wednesday is one of two “count days” which ties student attendance to funding. Wednesday’s count day represents 90% of state funding, while a second one in February represents about 10% of the state funding. Districts will get about $8,700 per student.

10 days
Michigan originally defined students as chronically absent if they missed more than 10 days in a school year. Beginning in 2017, the U.S. Dept. of Education defined chronically absent as students who miss 10 percent or more days, including only students who were enrolled in a district for at least 10 consecutive days.

Best available research indicates that approximately 560 districts in 25 states have one or more schools on a four-day schedule. More than half of these districts are located in four states—Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon—where a significant portion of districts have opted into the four-day week.

Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia have 180 school days throughout the school year….These states and their required days are:

• Arkansas: 178 days.
• Kentucky: 170 days.
• Louisiana: 177 days.
• Maine: 175 days.
• North Dakota: 175 days.
• Vermont: 175 days.
• Wyoming: 175 days.

CBE Administrative Regulation 3064 – School Year and Hours of Operation requires that the prescribed number of instructional hours is provided over a minimum of 180 days per school year.

What is count day? State officials will use student counts based largely on Wednesday’s school attendance, to calculate funding for this school year. Schools in Michigan are funded per student. Up for grabs this year is at least $8,700 per student, depending on the district.

A student with an unexcused absence on Count Day can be counted but only if he or she attends within 10 school days. As for that student who doesn’t attend on Count Day because they have been suspended, they must attend within 45 calendar days of Count Day to be counted.

GENERAL INFORMATION • The count days and school funding are mandated through the State School Aid Act. • Count Day is when all public schools in Michigan tally the number of students attending their schools. • Count information is critical to districts, because each student translates into state funding.

Four states impose their own criteria for the number of required school days. The number can either fall above 180 days or below 170 days: Other states run the school year based on the minimum number of instructional hours required by the district.

School years in the United States typically range from 160 to 180 days depending on the state. This does not include holidays, such as Thanksgiving, breaks, or weekends. States that are subject to snowfall in the wintertime often factor in days on which the school might close due to inclement weather.

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.

How did we land on 180 days? In the early days of American public education, schools ran like libraries—free classes were held, and children only attended when it was convenient. As American labor laws changed and child labor was outlawed, children were freed up to attend school more regularly.

In the United States, there are typically 35 to 36 weeks in a school year (this is based on a 5-day school week) and 175 to 180 days/ year.

Prior to 1890, students in major urban areas were in school for 11 months a year. But by 1900, the more popular 180 day, 9-month calendar had been firmly established.

Answer and Explanation: 180 days equals roughly 6 months. A month contains 30 or 31 days, except for February.

States without Required Days

• Delaware: 1,060 hours (Kindergarten-11th Grade)
• Montana: 360 hours (Half-Day Kindergarten)
• Nebraska: 400 hours (Kindergarten)
• New Mexico: 450 hours (Half-Day Kindergarten)
• Oregon: 450 hours (Half-Day Kindergarten)
• Texas: 1,260 hours (all grades)
• Wisconsin: 437 hours (Kindergarten)

Is Unschooling Legal? Unschooling is a form of homeschooling, and homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. Parents homeschooling in Ohio, Michigan, and other states have set requirements for subjects that must be taught within their homeschool.

Chronic absenteeism means missing too much school—for any reason—excused or unexcused. Experts and a growing number of states define chronic absenteeism as missing 10% (or around 18 days) during a school year).

1 Colorado: 160 days 2 Kansas: 186 days (Kindergarten-11th Grade) 181 days (12th Grade) 3 Minnesota: 165 days (Kindergarten-11th Grade) 4 Missouri: 174 days (5-day weeks) 142 days (4-day weeks)

1,050 hours (1st-6th Grade) 1,137 hours (7th-12th Grade) Three states have neither required school days nor required school hours. Instead, the school district helps them decide how many days or hours each school must use for instructional time.

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.