Key findings
- We read a primary document for 15 of 32 large districts. Only 5 of those are dedicated homework policies; the rest are grading regulations or handbooks.
- None cites the “10 minutes per grade” rule. It was marked absent in all 11 documents we assessed for it, present in 0.
- Only 3 of the 15 set explicit homework time limits: Los Angeles, Miami-Dade and Fairfax County. The others leave it to teachers or schools.
- Where high-school limits exist, they reach about 2 hours a night: Miami-Dade 120 minutes daily average in grades 9–12 (plus 30 minutes reading); Fairfax a maximum of 2 hours a day; LAUSD 25–30 minutes per class.
- Only 2 documents cap homework’s weight in the grade: Fairfax secondary at 10% and LAUSD at 20%.
- Dedicated homework policies are old: the median year of the 5 is 2015.
- Data: free CSV download, CC BY 4.0. Snapshot October 14, 2026.
Almost every parent has heard a version of the “10 minutes per grade” homework rule. We wanted to know what the rule books of the country’s largest school districts actually say. So we went looking for the official homework policy — board rule, administrative regulation or grading handbook — of 32 of the largest US school districts, and recorded what each document says about minutes, weekends, grade weight and late work.
The short version: most large districts don’t set homework time limits at all, none of the documents we read mentions the 10-minute rule, and the dedicated homework policies that do exist are mostly old.
Methodology
We recorded a value only if we read it in the district’s own document. The dataset has one row per district, 32 in all, compiled on October 14, 2026.
- Sources: primary district documents only — board rules, administrative regulations, grading handbooks and student handbooks. Values seen only in search-result snippets or third-party reports were left out.
- Fields: document title and URL, document year, elementary, middle and high school minutes guidance, whether the 10-minute rule is referenced, weekend and holiday limits, homework’s weight in the grade, late-work rule, enrollment and notes.
- Minutes are not normalized. Documents state limits in their own format — some per day across all subjects (Miami-Dade, Fairfax totals), some per class (LAUSD secondary, Fairfax planning caps), some as a maximum and some as an average. We kept each document’s wording.
- Blank means not stated or not read. The 10-minute-rule field is filled only where a document was actually read; where none was opened it is left empty, not “No.”
- Enrollment comes from each district’s fact page, with figures from different school years; it is in the CSV but not used in any finding.
Findings
Six findings, each computed directly from the 32-row dataset.
1. No district document we read cites the 10-minute rule. The rule was marked absent (N) in all 11 assessed rows and present (Y) in 0; 21 rows are empty because no document was read for that field.
2. Only 3 of the 15 districts with a document we read give explicit homework time limits: Los Angeles Unified, Miami-Dade and Fairfax County. The others leave it to teachers or schools. Northside ISD’s handbook says “Each teacher will specify…” for make-up dates; Hawaii’s board policy tells schools to “Develop clear policies for assigning and coordinating homework.”
3. Where high-school limits exist, they reach about 2 hours a night. Miami-Dade sets a 120-minute daily average for grades 9–12 (plus 30 minutes of reading); Fairfax sets a maximum of 2 hours a day; LAUSD sets 25–30 minutes per class.
4. Elementary limits are rare. Only 2 rows give per-grade elementary minutes. For grade 5, LAUSD sets a maximum of 50 minutes a day; Miami-Dade sets a 60-minute daily average for grades 4–5 (plus 30 minutes of reading).
5. Homework’s share of the grade is capped in only 2 documents: Fairfax secondary at a maximum of 10% and LAUSD at a maximum of 20%. Miami-Dade, Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Prince George’s County count homework in the grade without a percentage.
6. Dedicated homework policies are old. The median document year of the 5 dedicated policies is 2015 (Miami-Dade 2009, LAUSD 2012, Montgomery County MD 2015, Hawaii 2015, Broward 2021). Across all 13 dated documents, the median is 2021.
Time limits side by side
The three districts with explicit minutes, in each document’s own format.
| Grade band | Los Angeles USD (2012) | Miami-Dade (2009) | Fairfax County (undated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | Max per day: K 10, Gr 1–2 20, Gr 3 30, Gr 4 40, Gr 5 50 min (excluding daily reading) | Daily average, all subjects: K–1 30, Gr 2–3 45, Gr 4–5 60 min (+30 min reading) | Homework given K–6; no minutes stated |
| Middle | Gr 6 avg 15 min per academic class; Gr 7–8 avg 20 min per class | Gr 6–8 75 min daily (+30 min reading) | Max 1.5 hours/day across subjects; plan max 25 min per class block |
| High | Gr 9–10 avg 25 min per class; Gr 11–12 avg 30 min per class | Gr 9–12 120 min daily (+30 min reading) | Max 2 hours/day; plan max 30 min per class block |
| Homework weight | Max 20% of academic grade | Min 2 assignments/week per class in the grade; no % | Secondary max 10%; elementary effort grade only |
For comparison, the popular 10-minute rule would suggest 50 minutes in grade 5 and 120 minutes in grade 12 — our homework time calculator shows the full range by grade. LAUSD’s grade-5 cap happens to match it; none of the documents names it.
The full table: 32 districts
"—" means the document does not state it or no document was read; “Not read” means no primary document was opened for that district. Minutes are quoted in each document’s own format. The CSV has more columns, including weekend limits, late-work rules and notes.
| District | Document | Year | Elementary | Middle | High | Homework weight | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC DOE (NY) | High School Academic Policy Guide (Office of Academic Policy & Systems) | 2026 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Los Angeles USD (CA) | BUL-3491.1 Homework and Makeup Assignments in Grades K-12 | 2012 | Max per day: K 10; Gr1-2 20; Gr3 30; Gr4 40; Gr5 50 (excl. daily reading) | Gr6 avg 15 min per academic class; Gr7-8 avg 20 min per class | Gr9-10 avg 25 min per class; Gr11-12 avg 30 min per class | max 20% of academic grade | Document |
| Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL) | School Board Rule 6Gx13-6A-1.23 Homework | 2009 | Daily average all subjects: K-1 30; Gr2-3 45; Gr4-5 60 (plus 30 min reading) | Gr6-8 75 min daily (plus 30 min reading) | Gr9-12 120 min daily (plus 30 min reading) | Secondary: min 2 assignments/week per class reflected in class grade (no %) | Document |
| Chicago Public Schools (IL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Clark County School District (NV) | Regulation R-5121 Student Progress: Grading (Grades K-12) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Broward County Public Schools (FL) | District Homework page (Policy 6306 Homework, amended 2021-09-14) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Houston ISD (TX) | Grading & Report Cards page | 2025 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Hillsborough County Public Schools (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Orange County Public Schools (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Palm Beach County School District (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) | Middle and High School Grading and Reporting Handbook (+ Elementary Grading and Reporting Handbook) | — | “Homework is given at all grades K-6” (no minutes stated) | Max 1.5 hours/day across disciplines; plan max 25 min per class block | Max 2 hours/day; plan max 30 min per class block | Secondary: max 10% of course grade; elementary: effort grade only, not achievement | Document |
| Gwinnett County Public Schools (GA) | 2025-26 Student/Family Handbook - Grading entry | 2025 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Wake County Public School System (NC) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Dallas ISD (TX) | Grading Policy page (links to Board Policy EIA LOCAL/REGULATION) | — | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) | Regulation IKB-RA Homework Procedures | 2015 | Minutes not stated; homework “3 to 5 times a week” | — | — | Not stated as % | Document |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (NC) | 2026-27 Parent-Student Handbook | 2026 | — | — | — | Middle school: homework completion “is a factor included in the calculation” of grades (no %) | Document |
| School District of Philadelphia (PA) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| San Diego Unified (CA) | BP 6154 Homework/Makeup Work | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD) | AP 5121.3 Grading and Reporting for High Schools Grades 9-12 (also AP 5121.1 Elementary EC-5) | 2026 | — | — | — | Independent Assignments are a required grade category; weight not stated | Document |
| Duval County Public Schools (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (TX) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Northside ISD (TX) | NISD Secondary Student Handbook - Academic policies & procedures | 2026 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Hawaii DOE (HI) | BOE Policy 102-14 Homework | 2015 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Pinellas County Schools (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Memphis-Shelby County Schools (TN) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Cobb County School District (GA) | Administrative Rule IHA-R Grading Systems | 2019 | — | — | — | — | Document |
| Polk County Public Schools (FL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Loudoun County Public Schools (VA) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Baltimore County Public Schools (MD) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Jefferson County Public Schools (KY) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Austin ISD (TX) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
| Fort Worth ISD (TX) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not read |
Coverage caveats
This is a partial dataset, and the gaps are about access, not absence.
- 15 of 32 rows cite a document we opened and read. Only 5 of those are dedicated homework policies: LAUSD BUL-3491.1, Miami-Dade Rule 6A-1.23, the Broward Policy 6306 page, Montgomery County MD IKB-RA and Hawaii BOE Policy 102-14. The other 10 are grading regulations or handbooks.
- 17 rows have no primary homework document. District sites returned errors or refused the connection (Philadelphia, San Diego, Duval, Pinellas, Memphis-Shelby, Polk, Loudoun, Baltimore County, Hillsborough, Orange); board policy text on the Texas policy host was blocked (Houston, Dallas); or our search budget ran out (Jefferson County KY, Austin, Fort Worth, Chicago, Wake, Palm Beach).
- Houston, Dallas and Gwinnett link pages that hold only grading scales, with no homework rules.
- LAUSD (2012) and Miami-Dade (amended 2009): the live URLs now return 404 or an empty page, so the text was read from 2024 Wayback Machine copies. We could not confirm these documents are still in force.
- Fairfax’s web handbook is undated. Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s handbook PDF filename contains “EditingDraft.” Prince George’s County procedures show an effective date of August 26, 2026; its middle-school procedure was not opened.
- Values we saw but could not confirm in a primary document were deliberately left out.
We plan a second pass on the 17 missing districts. If you work for one of them and can point us to the current policy, please tell us via the about page.
Download the data and reuse it
Download homework_policies.csv — 32 rows, UTF-8, one row per district, with the source URL for every value.
The dataset is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt it for any purpose, including commercially, as long as you credit The Homework Site and link to this page. Suggested credit: “Source: The Homework Site, Homework Policies in 32 of the Largest US School Districts (October 2026).”
Related: how much homework is too much? · homework planner · free homework help · math homework help
Sources
Every document is linked in the table and the CSV. The dedicated homework policies:
- Los Angeles USD, BUL-3491.1 Homework and Makeup Assignments in Grades K-12 (2012; read via Wayback copy dated 2024-06-11): https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/577/Homework%20and%20Makeup%20Assignments%20in%20Grades%20K-12_0.pdf
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools, School Board Rule 6Gx13-6A-1.23 Homework (amended 2009; read via Wayback copy dated 2024-10-09): https://www.dadeschools.net/schoolboard/rules/chapt6/6a-1.23.pdf
- Broward County Public Schools, Homework (Policy 6306, amended 2021): https://www.browardschools.com/school-board/school-board-policies/homework
- Montgomery County Public Schools (MD), Regulation IKB-RA Homework Procedures (2015): https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/ikbra.pdf
- Hawaii Board of Education, Policy 102-14 Homework (2015): https://boe.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/policy_102-14_20160621.pdf
- Fairfax County Public Schools, Middle and High School Grading and Reporting Handbook: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary-school