Instructional Hour and Day Requirements.  School districts must meet annual minimum requirements for providing instructional hours and school days as part of the minimal instructional program of basic education.  Districts must offer student a district-wide average of at least 1080 hours for students in grades 9 through 12 and a minimum of 1000 instructional hours for students in kindergarten through grade 8.  School districts must also offer a minimum of 180 days of instruction each year to students in all grades.
 
With respect to private schools, state law provides minimum requirements that private schools must follow including, among others:

• a school year of at least 180 days; or
• the equivalent in annual minimum instructional hour offerings, with and a school-wide annual average of 1000 instructional hours for grades 1 through 12, and 450 hours for students enrolled in kindergarten.

 
Asynchronous Learning.  The State Board of Education (SBE) issued emergency rules for the 2020-21 school year that stated the instructional hours as defined in state law were not limited to in-person educational activities.  The rules stated that local education agencies could count hours students were provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district staff delivered through learning modalities that were not in person.  These modalities included, but were not limited to:

• distance learning;
• hybrid classrooms;
• rotating schedules; or
• other methods that allowed for delivery of basic education services during the COVID-19 epidemic.

 
Before the 2021-22 school year, the SBE adopted permanent rules that allow public schools to deliver instructional hours through learning modalities other than in-person instruction which may include, but are not limited to, distance learning, hybrid classrooms, rotating schedules, or other methods that allow for delivery of basic education services under certain conditions, including emergencies and due to health or safety needs of the student if agreed upon by the school district and the student. 

Asynchronous Learning.  School districts may provide up to 20 percent of the instructional hours per week required to meet the instructional program of basic education using asynchronous instructional hours.
 
Asynchronous instructional hours are defined as instructional hours that include time during the school day that students are provided the opportunity to engage in an educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district certificated staff, but where the educational activity does not include two-way interactive communication contact with school staff.  These hours may include educational activities delivered through alternative modalities of instruction, including, but not limited to, distance learning.
 
For a school district to count asynchronous instructional hours towards the amount required under the instructional program of basic education, the district must document the methods used to determine student interaction with or student participation in the planned asynchronous activities provided by the school district.  The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction may adopt rules to implement and monitor compliance with this documentation.
 
Private Schools.  For private K-12 schools, instructional hour offerings may also include asynchronous instructional hours.  For calculating school days, asynchronous instructional hours shall be considered in the same manner as other instructional hours.