Is there a national standard for the number of school days per year?: "Dear Yahoo!:
Is there a national standard for the number of school days per year?
Poindexter
Front of the Class
Dear Poindexter:
If you're asking about the United States, the answer is no. The U.S. government doesn't require a certain number of school days per year. Each state determines school-year length on its own.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, American schools average 180 days of instruction per year. That figure includes public and private schools at both the elementary and secondary levels.
A July 2004 report (MS Word document) from the Education Commission of the States lists each state's school-year requirements. Thirty states have 180-day school years, two have school years longer than 180 days, and 11 have school years shorter than 180 days. Minnesota is the only state that doesn't require a set number of days or instructional hours for schools. Each district can dictate its own school year.
Many countries have longer school years than the U.S. According to a UNESCO study of 43 countries, 33 of them have school years longer than 180 days. Some go as many as 220 days per year. Whether or not the number is nationally mandated varies from country to country. "
