How many school days or hours does your state require? A complete breakdown of attendance rules, plus tips for tracking and what counts as a school day.
Attendance is one of the most commonly required forms of homeschool documentation. Even in states with minimal regulation, tracking your school days is a fundamental best practice that protects you and your family.
Here is why it matters:
States use three main approaches to define how much instruction homeschool students must receive.
The most straightforward approach. States specify a minimum number of school days per year, typically 170-180 days. This is the most common model. A "day" usually means that instruction occurred on that date - most states do not define a minimum number of hours per day.
Some states specify annual hours of instruction instead of (or in addition to) days. Hour requirements often differ by grade level. For example, New York requires 900 hours for grades 1-6 and 990 hours for grades 7-12.
A few states simply require that instruction occur during a certain number of calendar months. North Carolina, for example, requires operating on a "regular schedule" for at least 9 calendar months per year.
Some states (like Pennsylvania) offer an either/or: 180 days or the equivalent in hours. This flexibility is helpful for families whose daily schedules vary.
The 180-day model is the most common. These states require approximately 180 school days per year (some require 170-175):
Use our School Day Calculator to see exactly how many days you need to plan for your state and start date.
These states define attendance requirements in hours of instruction, which can vary by grade level:
| State | Elementary Hours | Secondary Hours |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 900 hrs (grades 1-6) | 990 hrs (grades 7-12) |
| Pennsylvania | 900 hrs (grades 1-6) | 990 hrs (grades 7-12) |
| Ohio | 900 hrs (all grades) | |
| Colorado | 968 hrs (grades 1-8) | 1,056 hrs (grades 9-12) |
| Washington | 1,000 hrs average (varies by grade) | |
| Kentucky | 1,062 hrs (all grades) | |
| North Dakota | 952 hrs (grades 1-6) | 1,038 hrs (grades 7-12) |
If your state measures in hours, a simple way to meet the requirement is to plan for 5 hours of instruction per day for 180 days. That gives you 900 hours with no buffer days. Adding even a few extra days covers sick days and breaks comfortably.
Enter your state and start date. Our calculator shows exactly how many days to plan for, accounting for holidays.
Calculate Your DaysSeveral states do not specify a minimum number of school days or hours for homeschoolers. This does not mean you can skip instruction altogether - these states still expect that education is being provided - but they do not mandate a specific quantity.
Even in states with no attendance requirement, we strongly recommend tracking your school days. It protects you if anyone questions your homeschool, and it helps you maintain a consistent routine. A simple calendar with marked days is enough.
Tracking attendance does not need to be complicated. Here are the most common methods, from simplest to most detailed.
The simplest approach. Use a physical wall calendar or printed monthly calendar pages. Mark each school day with a checkmark or "S" and each day off with an "X" or leave it blank. At the end of the month, count the school days.
This works well for states that only require a day count and do not need hourly tracking.
Create a simple spreadsheet with columns for Date, School Day (yes/no), Hours, and Notes. This is ideal for states that require hour tracking, since you can use a formula to automatically total your hours.
Many homeschool families already use a planner for lesson planning. Simply add an attendance check to each day's entry. This combines your planning and record-keeping in one place.
Dedicated apps like Blue Folder offer calendar-based attendance tracking with automatic day counting, holiday markers, and pace tracking. The app tells you whether you are on track to meet your state's requirements based on your start date and remaining days.
Whichever method you choose, the most important habit is marking attendance daily. Trying to reconstruct attendance at the end of the week or month leads to inaccuracies. Take 10 seconds at the end of each school day to mark it.
One of the most common questions from new homeschoolers is: "Does this count?" Here is a practical guide to what most states consider instructional time.
If an activity has an intentional educational purpose and you can describe what your child learned from it, it generally counts as instructional time. The key word is "intentional." You should be able to articulate the educational value, even if the activity looks informal.
Blue Folder's attendance calendar tracks school days, holidays, and hours - and shows you if you're on pace for your state.
Get Started FreeOne of the advantages of homeschooling is schedule flexibility. Here is how to handle common scheduling questions.
Simply do not mark the day as a school day. You do not need to report sick days to anyone in most states. If you are tracking hours, do not log hours for days when no instruction occurred. Build a buffer of 5-10 extra days into your annual plan to account for illness.
You can take breaks whenever you want - you just need to make up the days elsewhere. Some families do "road schooling" during travel, counting educational activities at destinations. Others simply extend their school year into the summer to make up missed days.
You are not required to observe federal or state holidays. However, most families take major holidays off. Our School Day Calculator automatically accounts for federal holidays and lets you add custom breaks.
Unlike public schools, homeschoolers can usually school through bad weather since you are already home. But if you choose to take a snow day, just skip it and add a day elsewhere.
If your state requires 180 days, plan for 185-190 days in your school calendar. This gives you a comfortable buffer for sick days, family emergencies, and mental health days without stressing about meeting the requirement.
These are the attendance-related mistakes we see most often from homeschool families.
Some families begin homeschooling but do not start tracking attendance until weeks or months later. By that point, you are guessing about how many days you have already completed. Start marking your calendar from the very first day of instruction.
Some states define the school year as a specific date range (e.g., July 1 to June 30). Make sure you are counting days within the correct period. If you start late in the calendar, you may need to extend into summer.
If your state requires hours, make sure you are tracking hours and not just days. A short instructional day (say, 2 hours) still counts as a day for states that count days, but if your state requires 900 hours, a 2-hour day only adds 2 hours to your total.
If you count a field trip or educational outing as a school day, mark it in your attendance log. Otherwise, you lose credit for a day of instruction that actually happened.
If you fall behind on days, some families try to cram multiple short "school days" into each day near the end of the year. It is much better to spread your days evenly and plan a buffer from the start.
It depends on your state. The most common requirement is 180 days per year. Some states measure in hours instead (e.g., 900-990 hours), and several states have no specific attendance requirement at all. Use our Compliance Checker to find your state's exact requirement.
In most states, yes. Field trips to museums, nature centers, historical sites, and other educational locations can count as instructional time. Document the trip with photos and a brief description of what was learned to strengthen your records.
States with no specific day or hour requirements include Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Texas. However, these states still expect that instruction is provided on a regular basis.
You can use a simple calendar and mark each school day, a spreadsheet with date and hour columns, or a dedicated app like Blue Folder. The key is consistency - mark attendance daily rather than trying to reconstruct it later.