Are there 38 weeks in a school year?

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 in a school year. However, the requirement varies by state, district, grade level, and type of school (ex. charter vs public).

Due to classes only being held a few days out of some weeks (and school closures), the actual number of weeks in a year that the school term covers is different. 

For example, a district in South Florida has a 20/21 school year from Aug 19th to June 9th which covers 43 weeks out of the 52 weeks in a full year. However, 4 full weeks and a total of 31 days are closed due to holidays and teacher planning days. In total, there are 39 weeks the schools are open for a total to 180 instruction days.

How many school days are in a 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 have the option to meet a minimum number of instructional hours per school term instead of days.

For hours required, the average is 1080 hours but ranges from 720 to 1,260 hours for high school grades. Lower grades, such as kindergarten have as little as 400 hours required. As adults, I bet we all wish we could go back to this before the 2080 work hours in a year we have to struggle through!

Using the South Florida school as an example again, the school term covered 211 weekdays from Aug. 19th 2020 to June 9th 2021. Of those days, the school is closed on 31 of them leaving 180 instructional days. 

On the other hand, Houston, Texas has a school term that covers 40 weeks out of the year and is open for 36 of them. It starts on Sept. 8th 2020 and ends on June 11th 2020 for a total of 199 weekdays. After accounting for 28 days of holidays and teacher planning, the school term in Houston is only 171 days of instructional time. 

Required School Days by State

This chart shows the school day requirements of different states based on data from the Education Commission of the States (updated 2020).

StateMinimum Amount of Days In School Year
Alabama 180 days
Alaska 180 days
Arizona 180 days
Arkansas 178 days
California 175-180 days
Colorado 160 days
Connecticut 180 days
Delaware Only a requirement for hours
District of Columbia 180 days
Florida 180 days
Georgia 180 days
Hawaii 180 days
Idaho Varies by district
Illinois 176-185 days
Indiana 180 days
Iowa 180 days
Kansas Grades 1-11: 186 days
Grade 12: 181 days
Kentucky 170 days
Louisiana 177 days
Maine 180 days
Maryland 180 days
Massachusetts 180 days
Michigan 180 days
Minnesota Grades 1-11: 165 days
Mississippi 180 days
Missouri Only a requirement for hours
Montana Varies by district
Nebraska Only a requirement for hours
Nevada 180 days
New Hampshire 180 days
New Jersey 180 days
New Mexico Only a requirement for hours
New York 180 days
North Carolina 185 days
North Dakota Only a requirement for hours
Ohio Varies by district
Oklahoma 180 days
Oregon Only a requirement for hours
Pennsylvania 180 days
Rhode Island 180 days
South Carolina 180 days
South Dakota Varies by district
Tennessee 180 days
Texas Only a requirement for hours
Utah 180 days
Vermont 175 days
Virginia 180 days
Washington 180 days
West Virginia 180 days
Wisconsin Only a requirement for hours
Wyoming 175 days

Conclusion

In summation, there is an average of 35-36 weeks, 175-180 days, and about 9 months in a school year.

Based on that average of 180 days, we spend 2,340 days in school in our lifetime of grades K-12; that’s 6.4 years!

Are there 36 weeks in a school year?

A Closer Look At Number Of School Days Per Year A general guideline is approximately 36 weeks of instruction a year, which comes out to about 180 school days a year. Keep in mind that most schools have the weekends off, so there are only five days of instruction in these 36 weeks.

How long is the school year?

United States. In the United States, there are typically 160-180 school days in a year; the exact number mainly depends on the state. (although school years at colleges and universities are often shorter). Private schools tend to have classes for 170 days each year.

How many weeks are in a school year 2022 UK?

The school year starts in September and is usually organised into 3 terms with a 1 week holiday halfway through the term. Pupils spend 190 days (38 weeks) in school each year.

How many weeks is a student term?

But how long are university semesters? On average there are 3 semesters in a university year, each semester usually lasting 12 weeks.