School Calendar Requirements

LEAs, charter schools, cooperative innovative high schools, regional schools, and UNC laboratory schools must provide minimum of 185 days or 1,025 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months. G. S. 115C-84.2 (LEAs), -218.85 (Charter Schools), -238.53 (CIHS), -238.66 (Regional Schools), G.S. 116-239.8(2c) (Lab Schools)

Requirements for LEAs

By the Numbers

  • Each local board of education shall adopt a school calendar consisting of 215 days, all of which shall fall within the fiscal year.
  • A school calendar shall include a minimum of 185 days or 1,025 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months.
  • A minimum of 10 annual vacation leave days (for staff).
  • The same or an equivalent number of legal holidays occurring within the school calendar as those designated by the State Human Resources Commission for State employees. (Currently 11 holidays; check website in the future; must include Veterans’ Day)
  • Local boards shall designate at least 2 days as days on which teachers may take accumulated vacation leave.
  • The total number of working days for teachers employed for a 10‑month term shall not exceed 195 days.

  • The remaining days shall be scheduled by the local board in consultation with each school's principal for use as teacher workdays, additional instructional days, or other lawful purposes.*

    *Note that the school calendar law does not specify a minimum number of teacher workdays.  

Other Requirements

  • Except for year‑round schools, the opening date for students shall be no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26, and the closing date for students shall be no later than the Friday closest to June 11.
  • Instructional days or workdays should not be scheduled on Saturdays. A Saturday may be used as a makeup day for an inclement weather day when the school has been closed.
  • School shall not be held on Sundays.

Exemptions and Waivers

Details on exemptions and waivers are in the School Calendar chapter of the School Attendance and Student Accounting Manual (SASA)

More Information

Legislation: G. S. 115C-84.2

State Board Policies: 

 Please reach out to your local BOE Attorney should you have other questions or concerns.

Tab/Accordion Items

Traditional: A school that has one track, in operation for at least 185 days, with a long summer break (approximately 10 weeks.)

Year-round: A school with a single- or multi-track instructional calendar to provide instructional days throughout the entire school calendar year, beginning July 1 and ending June 30, by utilizing at least one of the following plans:

  1. A plan dividing students into four groups and requiring each group to be in school for assigned and staggered quarters each school calendar year.
  2. A plan providing students be scheduled to attend four quarters of between 43 and 47 instructional days each school calendar year, with vacation periods for students of between 14 and 18 days separating each quarter.
  3. A plan dividing the school calendar year into five nine-week sessions of classes and requiring each student to attend four assigned and staggered sessions out of the five nine-week sessions to complete the student’s instructional year.
  4. In a LEA with both single- and multi-track instructional calendars, a plan for a single-track instructional calendar that is identical to at least one track of a multi-track instructional calendar adopted by the local board that meets the requirements of either 1. or 3. above.

Modified: A school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-2004 school year or any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003-2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school continuously operates under a modified calendar. The only schools that are approved to have this calendar are the 4 Wake County Public Schools designated with a modified calendar in in 2004.

All schools (charters, lab, regional, ISD, etc.) and LEAs are responsible for entering a calendar type for each school in EDDIE.

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