Minimum Hours and What Hours Count

Requirements for School Districts, Joint Vocational School Districts, and Chartered Nonpublic Schools

School districts, joint vocational school districts, and chartered nonpublic schools will be required to be open for instruction for a minimum of:

  • 455 hours for students in half-day kindergarten;
  • 910 hours for students in full-day kindergarten through Grade 6;
  • 1,001 hours for students in Grades 7-12; and
  • 910 hours for students enrolled in traditional school district online schools.

Minimum Hours Exceptions (Does Not apply to Community Schools)

As part of the minimum hours, districts and schools may use:

  • Up to two equivalent days for the purpose of individualized parent-teacher conferences and reporting periods;
  • Up to two equivalent days for the purpose of professional meetings of teachers; and
  • Morning and afternoon recess periods of no more than fifteen minutes each for students in Grades kindergarten through 6.

Defining “Open for Instruction”

Hours eligible to count as “open for instruction” include time when the district, school or building is open and all students are:

  • Attending regularly scheduled classes;
  • Participating in supervised activities such as assemblies;
  • Participating in approved education options; and
  • Participating in co-curricular activities during the scheduled school day. 

Time spent during lunch periods, breakfast periods and extracurricular activities cannot count as open for instruction. A schedule must include five days in each week. These requirements apply to all districts and schools, except for community schools.

Community School Requirements

Community schools must provide a minimum of 920 hours of learning opportunities per year. This does not represent a change. Please note that community schools may not count the Minimum Hours Exceptions listed above towards the 920 hours of learning opportunities per year requirement.

Ohio Administrative Code 3301-102-02(M) defines “learning opportunity as the following:

(M) "Learning opportunity" means classroom-based or non-classroom-based supervised instructional and educational activities that are defined in the community school's contract and are

(1) Provided by or supervised by a licensed teacher;

(2) Goal oriented; and

(3) Certified by a licensed teacher as meeting the criteria established for completing the learning opportunity. 

Last Modified: 4/7/2022 8:53:21 AM