Homeschool Hours Required in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania requires a minimum of 900 hours of instruction per school year. This must be spread over at least 180 school days. Older students carry a higher target of 990 hours. Check which grades that band starts at before you set a goal.

Hours per year

900

School days

180

Older grades

990 hrs

Required hours

900 hrs/year

School days

180 days/year

Required subjects

11 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Professional evaluation

Portfolio

Required

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

What Pennsylvania requires

Pennsylvania sets two numbers you satisfy at the same time: 900 hours and 180 days. Clearing the hours across fewer, longer days leaves the second one unmet, and it is the half families notice last. Older grades carry a higher target of 990 hours. Pennsylvania sets where that band begins, so a household with children on both sides of the line tracks two numbers at once.

What counts as an instructional hour

An instructional hour covers education, and that reaches well past desk work. 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. Pennsylvania 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 180 school days, 900 hours is about 5.0 hours a day. Across a 36 week year that's roughly 25.0 hours a week, or 5.0 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. Pennsylvania has its own wrinkles here, covered in the notes on the main Pennsylvania requirements page. Homeschool Fox asks for your school year once in settings and measures your totals against it from then on.

If you fall behind

Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania pace

Pennsylvania requires 900 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.

Common mistakes in Pennsylvania

• Hitting 900 hours but missing 180 days

  Pennsylvania requires both the hours and the days. Teaching long days on fewer dates satisfies one and fails the other. Track the day count separately rather than assuming the hours imply it.

Your Pennsylvania hours checklist

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

1. 1

   Write down your target

   900 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 Pennsylvania expects

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

Reporting calendar

Pennsylvania homeschoolers file on this schedule. Put each date on your calendar. Missing one can put you out of compliance.

Homeschool Fox reminds you before each Pennsylvania deadline and builds the reports you file. Start tracking free.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

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

Free Pennsylvania printables

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

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

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Pennsylvania

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

• Hours toward your 900-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 Pennsylvania guides

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