Homeschool Hours Required in Colorado

Colorado requires at least 4 hours of instruction per day over 172 school days, which works out to roughly 688 hours per year.

Hours per year

688

School days

172

Required hours

688 hrs/year

School days

172 days/year

Required subjects

9 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation)

Recordkeeping

Recommended

Jump to the full Colorado requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

What Colorado requires

Colorado sets two numbers you satisfy at the same time: 688 hours and 172 days. Clearing the hours across fewer, longer days leaves the second one unmet, and it is the half families notice last. The daily figure of 4 hours is where the annual total comes from, so a string of half days leaves you short even when the calendar looks full.

What counts as an instructional hour

Desk time is one kind of instruction. The hour count takes in the rest of it too. Reading together, a museum trip, a science documentary you talk through afterward, music practice, and a co-op class all count the same as a workbook page. Unstructured free time with no educational purpose does not. Colorado will never ask you to defend a single entry, so hold yourself to a simple test: could you explain it to someone who asked?

The daily and weekly math

Spread over 172 school days, 688 hours is about 4.0 hours a day. Across a 36 week year that's roughly 19.1 hours a week, or 4.8 days a week.

When your school year starts and ends

Your count resets with your school year, so the dates you pick carry as much weight as the total. Set your start and end dates before you log anything, then keep them steady from one year to the next. Homeschool Fox asks for your school year once in settings and measures your totals against it from then on.

If you fall behind

Colorado has no formal shortfall process, so you fix a gap yourself: extend your year, add days, or count instruction you have been doing without recording it. Field trips, read alouds, and life skills work are legitimate hours that families forget to log. A gap you spot in February is a small schedule change. The same gap found in June means teaching through the summer.

Work out your Colorado pace

Colorado requires 688 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.

Common mistakes in Colorado

• Missing that 688 hours and 172 days are the same rule

  Colorado's figure comes from 172 days averaging four hours. Hit the hours across 120 long days and you have satisfied one half of it. Track both numbers from the start of the year and the question never comes up.

Your Colorado hours checklist

Five habits that keep the number honest without turning record keeping into a second job.

1. 1

   Write down your target

   688 hours for the year.

2. 2

   Pick your school year dates

   Decide when your year starts and ends before you log anything. Your hours count is measured against that window.

3. 3

   Log the same day you teach

   Most records fall apart when a family tries to reconstruct a month of hours from memory. A minute at the end of the day keeps that from happening.

4. 4

   Check your pace monthly

   One look a month tells you whether your current average still lands you on target, while there is time to adjust.

5. 5

   Keep the log as long as Colorado expects

   Even where you submit nothing, the log is what answers the question if a question comes.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

Homeschool Fox counts every logged activity against your Colorado target, so a gap shows up while you still have time to close it.

Free Colorado printables

Two ready-to-use PDFs for Colorado homeschoolers. No account needed.

Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Colorado

Everything Colorado expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 688-hour goal
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Colorado guides

• Colorado Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Colorado A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Colorado Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Colorado What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
• How to Withdraw From School in Colorado The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Colorado What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Colorado Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Required Subjects in Colorado The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Colorado Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Homeschool Testing in Colorado What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.