The Homework Site

States

School Facts by State

State-by-state school rules with sources: kindergarten entry age, compulsory school age, required instructional days, grading scales and remote-learning days.

A vintage paper map of the United States without any labels spread on a desk with colored pushpins and a school bus toy

These pages answer the school questions that depend on where you live: when a child can start kindergarten, the age school becomes mandatory, how many days schools must be open, whether the state sets a grading scale, and whether a snowy day can become a remote-learning day. Every fact links to the official or primary source we used, mostly the Education Commission of the States.

School rules in the US are set state by state, and often district by district. Where a rule is local, the state page says so rather than guess. Always confirm a date or a number with your district before relying on it.

Start here

QuestionBest page
Can my child start kindergarten this fall?Kindergarten cutoff dates by state
What grade should my child be in?What grade am I in? calculator
Does my state set a grading scale?Grading scales by state
Will school close for snow tomorrow?Snow day calculator
Big-state rules at a glanceCalifornia, Texas, New York, Florida

How the state pages fit together

Each state page pulls five rules into one place. The kindergarten cutoff feeds the what grade am I in? calculator, which turns a birthday and a state into a grade level and graduation year. The grading-scale entry links to a dedicated table where a state sets one, such as North Carolina or Florida. The instructional-days minimum explains why snow days have to be made up, and the remote-learning rule decides whether they do. Snowy states also link to a local version of the snow day calculator, for example Michigan or Massachusetts, backed by our snow day thresholds research.

Reading the table

The summary table below lists each state’s kindergarten cutoff, compulsory school age, minimum instructional days and remote snow-day rule. A dash means we found no statewide rule, not that the practice is banned. “Local option” means districts set the rule themselves, which is common for kindergarten entry in the Northeast. Click a state name for the full page, its sources and a short FAQ.

Where this directory came from

From 2000 to the early 2010s, this web address hosted a homework-posting service that listed participating schools by state. The pages below are an independent successor to that directory: rules instead of school listings, and free tools you can use in any district. The table below covers 27 states, and the kindergarten cutoff table covers all 50 states plus DC.

School rules by state (selected states)
StateKindergarten cutoffCompulsory ageMin. daysRemote snow days
ArkansasAugust 15–18Set by state accreditation standards—
CaliforniaSeptember 16–18180—
ConnecticutSeptember 15–18180Allowed
FloridaSeptember 16–16180—
GeorgiaSeptember 16–16180—
IllinoisSeptember 16–17185Allowed
IndianaAugust 17–18180—
IowaSeptember 156–16180Allowed (≤5)
LouisianaSeptember 305–18177—
MaineOctober 156–17180—
MarylandSeptember 15–18180—
Massachusettslocal option6–16180—
MichiganSeptember 16–18180—
MinnesotaSeptember 17–171-11: 165Allowed (≤5)
New Hampshirelocal option6–18180Allowed
New JerseyOctober 16–16180Allowed
New Yorklocal option6–16180Allowed
North CarolinaAugust 317–16185—
Ohiofirst day of school6–18Set by city boardAllowed (≤3)
OregonSeptember 16–18Not specified—
Pennsylvanialocal option6–18180Allowed (≤5)
South CarolinaSeptember 15–17180—
TennesseeAugust 156–18180—
TexasSeptember 16–19Not specified—
VermontJanuary 1 (before)6–16175—
West VirginiaSeptember 1 (before)6–17180—
WisconsinSeptember 16–18Not specified—

Frequently asked questions

When is the kindergarten cutoff in my state?
Most states let a child start kindergarten in the fall if they turn 5 on or before a set cutoff date. September 1 is the most common cutoff, used by 19 of the 51 jurisdictions in the Education Commission of the States’ 2026 comparison. Cutoffs run from July 31 in Hawaii and Nebraska to before January 1 in Vermont, and Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania leave the date to districts.
What age is school mandatory in the US?
Compulsory school age is set by each state, not nationally. Among the 27 states with a school facts page on The Homework Site, children must usually start school by age 6, although a few states begin at 5 or 7. The age at which a student may leave ranges from 16 to 19, with 18 the most common, according to the Education Commission of the States.
How many days of school are required in a year?
Most states require about 180 instructional days. In the 27 states covered on The Homework Site, 17 set a minimum of exactly 180 days, a few require 175 to 185, and some count hours instead of days or leave the number to local boards. Snow days that close schools usually have to be made up to reach the state minimum.
Do all states use the same grading scale?
No. Most states leave grading scales to districts and schools. Among the states covered on The Homework Site, seven set a statewide scale: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Each has its own grading scale page with the full table. Everywhere else, the student handbook is the place to check.
Can schools use remote learning instead of snow days?
It depends on the state. Of the 27 states covered on The Homework Site, nine allow remote-learning days to count toward the school year in some form, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa. Some cap them at three or five days a year. In other states there is no statewide rule, so the decision falls to the district.