Days and Hours Requirements

Day/Hour Requirements

Minimum Required Days

180 days

Minimum Required Hours

Grades 1-12:  1,098 hours

Note: Kindergarten is not required to meet a minimum number of days and may schedule less than 1098 hours, but FTE must be pro-rated for any pupils attending a part-time kindergarten program.

Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE): 144 Days, 360 Hours

Waivers 

An alternative education program may request from Michigan Department of Education, Office of State Aid and School Finance, a waiver of the minimum required days and hours of instruction.  See Resources tab for a link to State Aid and School Finance forms on MDE web site.

Labor Day Rule

Classes may not begin until after Labor Day.  The only exceptions are international baccalaureate programs which schedule at least 1,160 annual instructional hours and schools that apply to MDE to become a bona fide year-round school (also known as balanced calendar).  Part of the balanced calendar application process is requesting a waiver to start school before Labor Day.

Professional Development in place of Instructional Time

Effective October 1, 2019, Section 101(10) of the State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1701(10)), was amended to include new provisions. Local education agencies (LEA), both traditional and charter, may count up to 38 hours of professional development for teachers as hours/days of pupil instruction if all of the listed requirements are satisfied. Professional development of any length may count as instructional hours but to count as an instructional day it must exceed 5 hours in a single day per Subsection 10(a).

Forgiven Days and Hours

Six (6) days of instruction canceled due to situations beyond the control of school authorities may be forgiven. Valid reasons include snow days, power outages and widespread illness (i.e. many students out due to flu or other illness). This applies to ALL grades, K-12 and Early Childhood Special Education.

For more details, see Section 101 of State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1701).

WISD common calendar